


The Elysian

by ZMistress



Category: Deponia (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Bad Parenting, F/M, Lots of Angst, POV Antagonist, Unhealthy Relationships, and bad attempts at humor, but I did my best to give Cletus some backstory, not quite depression but, the major character death is basically canonical character death, this spoils all the plot twists btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 54,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9226283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZMistress/pseuds/ZMistress
Summary: He sure wasn't made to be a hero but sometimes even the story of a sleazy, cold-hearted antagonist is worth being told. So here we have Cletus' story: How he got to Elysium, how he grew up and how he managed to ruin his own life, among others.





	1. Prologue

Sometimes he wondered if there was ever an uglier planet than this one.

Below him, a muddy green orb spun lazily, adorned with leaden hazes of toxic gas. The vibrant blue of clean oceans, the luscious green of thriving vegetation, and even the rich brown of fertile soil were nowhere to be seen. In short, life had abandoned this place.

Despite this, thousands – maybe even millions – clung to existence, rummaging around in the trash, constantly on the lookout for the bare necessities to make it through the next day.

Was there any doubt that Deponia was the most pitiful planet in the entire universe?

Controller Ulysses scowled in disgust as the highboat carried him closer to the surface, and in the jumbled mess of trash and filth, he began to discern continents and rancid seas. How he longed for the day when he'd no longer need to set foot on these sad remnants of the past. Yet, the Controller knew that realizing this desire would require personal sacrifice.

He had volunteered for this task because no other resident of Elysium would deign to leave their refuge and return to their former home planet. This came as no surprise; Deponia's former upper class, the Elysians, were accustomed to a high standard of living. Who among them would be eager to leave their perfect white city, safely ensconced in orbit, to run around amidst the garbage of the surface in breathing masks and protective gear?

Nonetheless, a liaison between Deponia and Elysium was needed to oversee the workers on the planet and make the hard decisions necessary to preserve Elysium. For that, Controller Ulysses would return to the dirt as often as need be.

If only he knew what it was that Hermes had asked him to come and discuss.

After one last glance out of the viewport, Ulysses turned to make his way back to the highboat's control panel. His aide, Martus, seemed relieved when Ulysses took his place. At roughly sixty years, Martus was twice as old as Ulysses and anything but enthusiastic about being instructed to accompany the newly-minted controller by the Council of Elders. Martus had probably been preparing for retirement, but his military past made him obedient enough to postpone that.

Ulysses saved himself the effort of offering words of comfort. At least Martus wouldn't have to leave the highboat once it descended into the ruins of the once-proud metropolis Porta Fisco. Ulysses would have no such luck.

The highboat had been built to accommodate as many as possible during the evacuation of the upper class to Elysium, which made it an inefficient means of transport for only two people. Smaller lifeboats existed, but their guiding cables led to Ascension Stations elsewhere on the planet. It was at such stations that the evacuees had gathered, and it was the largest of these, Upper Ascension Station in Porta Fisco, that the highboat's cable led to. Given that Hermes' cloning facilities were close to the former metropolis, the highboat was the best choice for this trip despite its dimensions.

The clones were intended to build monorail tracks, making travel around the planet and its mountains of trash possible, but these ideas had yet to materialize.

Ulysses returned his focus to the controls until Martus finally announced their arrival and began the docking procedure.

* * *

The highboat's bulkhead slammed shut behind the Controller, cutting him even further off from Elysium's comfortable splendor. In contrast to the highboat, the Upper Ascension Station had been built with cold, straightforward functionality in mind. It towered above the deteriorating houses of Porta Fisco, with the highboat's cable stretching from its peak.

Ulysses stepped out of the lock onto the docking level: an open space near the top of Upper Ascension Station that once housed cargo of all kinds, ready to be stored or loaded. Now, however, it was barren enough that Ulysses could see the distant horizon, and just below that, the stagnant canyon-streets of Porta Fisco. He did not let his eyes wander for long; he hated the idea of happening upon the still-living remnants of those who had been left to rot.

Fortunately, Upper Ascension Station had been closed off from the city since the evacuation, and a contingent of Hermes' clones guarded all entries. "Project Organon" was what the old fogey had called them, and it was they whom Ulysses sought now. In the event of an emergency, Ulysses could contact Martus using his helmet's interface, but judging by the content of Hermes' message, such a precaution was hardly necessary. The Organon would ensure his safety.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a plasma rifle bolt struck the ground near his foot. Ulysses whirled towards the source and caught sight of two men, wearing helmets like his own, at the gateway to the elevator.

"You damned fools! What were you thinking?" he demanded.

The pair exchanged a look but made no move to lower their rifles. "Nobody may enter the station," one of them offered, an almost helpful tone in his voice.

"But that doesn't mean me, you idiots! I am Controller Ulysses of Elysium, here at the request of Hermes!"

"Oh."

Ulysses clenched his fists and fought the urge to draw his own weapon and decommission these two. If he did that, however, he would have to make his own way through the city – though, being permanently rid of these fools was becoming more attractive by the second. "What now? Will you put down those weapons and escort me to Hermes?"

"Right now?"

"If it isn't too much of a hassle to you gentlemen," snapped Ulysses, belatedly realizing that sarcasm was probably lost on them. "Of course right now, you airheads."

The Organon soldiers looked at each other for a while before finally shouldering their rifles and gesturing for Ulysses to follow them. As he entered the elevator, Ulysses was made keenly aware of how unimposing this duo really was. They were more than a head shorter than him and of much slighter stature. Apart from their helmets, they were clad in rags characteristic of Deponia. The Controller realized he would have to bring up with Hermes the abysmal quality of his troops.

Rickety and aging vehicle aside, the soldiers were at least competent enough to bring him unmolested to the city's edge where, overshadowed by taller buildings, an old waste-processing plant was situated. At the gates, several more helmeted, shabby figures awaited their chance to misunderstand Ulysses' presence and provoke his ire. Luckily, Hermes' himself was close by and prevented any bloodshed.

Waving his arms, the aging man shushed the Organons away and then turned to Ulysses, beaming. "Controller Ulysses, at last. I had expected you weeks ago. Months ago, to be honest. But never mind. You're finally here."

Ulysses, grateful for his helmet, could nonetheless barely keep from shying away in disgust when Hermes laid a hand on his shoulder and enthusiastically guided him into the facility. The older man may have been of similarly-privileged descent to the Controller, and may even have masterminded the plan to build Elysium and contain Deponia, but when it was time to leave, Hermes had chosen to stay. Ulysses did not wish to seem ungrateful, but life on the despoiled planet had left its indelible mark. Hermes' hair remained a deep black, untouched by white or gray, but it had become scarce and stringy. His skin had taken on a sickly, sallow tone, and Ulysses couldn't bring himself to look closely at the man's teeth.

Hermes seemed oblivious to the impression he had made on Ulysses. Overjoyed, he showed his guest to a paltry kitchen and dingy living room. Two crates had to be pushed aside so that the two men could enter a meager study where, on the tables and floor, stacks of handwritten notes fought for space with boxes full of cartridges. Ulysses angled for a lone chair amidst the chaos, hoping it would bear his weight, and settled down.

Hermes had to make do without anything to sit on, but he didn't seem to mind. "How is Argus?" he asked abruptly.

Ulysses frowned. "He's developing well, I'd say. He's a tough little fellow and rather clever."

Hermes beamed again. "He lives with you on Elysium, doesn't he?"

The lines in Ulysses' forehead deepened. He didn't know what Hermes was playing at, but it was already giving him a headache. "For the time being, yes, but I'm looking for a better alternative. I have my reputation to consider, and there's plenty of talk about where he came from as is. My fiancée Una isn't happy with the situation either."

Hermes' smile had faded, but Ulysses wasn't done. "But what I really can't wrap my mind around is the lack of quality in your Organons. I thought you said Argus was a prototype before you wanted to go into mass production. Yet those failures who served as my welcome committee at the Ascension Station can hardly be more sophisticated versions of him. He may be only three years old, but he could probably already handle these idiots."

"Well, uhm…" Hermes laughed in embarrassment. "To be quite honest, they are not fully developed yet. You see, the tasks the Organon are meant to handle demand quite a range of finely tuned skills. And, of course, they are supposed to be obedient and willing to lay down their lives in the service of Elysium without hesitation. It's almost impossible to get the formula perfect on the first try. My first priority was to make them resilient enough to survive on Deponia. I modified the clone servants you usually use as stand-ins for robots to handle emergencies, so I wouldn't have to start from scratch. They are neither tall nor muscular, but they are rather tough and wiry. I also took away their respect for life, so that they wouldn't have second thoughts about fulfilling their intended purpose." Hermes paused for a moment and fidgeted with his sleeves. "At least, I hope it works out that way. Argus was rather close to what I had imagined in many aspects, but when I reviewed his data, I realized that he was better suited as a leader than as a simple foot soldier. And his self-preservation instincts are rather strong. So, I started varying his genetic profile and tried –"

Ulysses leaped to his feet. "You created even more prototypes?!"

Hermes looked half embarrassed and half annoyed. "As I said, this was necessary. The current clones aren't stable enough, nor are they sophisticated enough in their abilities to do their duty. But whenever I made progress with the prototypes, I attempted to spread those improvements to the adult clones. However, without a prototype whose brain has matured from childhood through the process of growing up, I simply won't have the data to produce adult clones that fulfill our concept."

"Just to make sure I understand you correctly: you create prototypes as children, and wait until they grow up before beginning the Organon's mass production?" asked Ulysses. "How in the world are you going to meet the schedule? You do know that Elysium doesn't have forever."

"I'm perfectly aware of that. While I've been continually replacing adult clones with updated versions, it's not as if past iterations were totally incapable of performing useful tasks. They just need detailed instructions and a very patient overseer. As soon as I have a bit of time to spare, they can start working on blast towers and cruiser routes. Believe me, I've calculated everything and I'm confident that we will be ready in 20 to 25 years. Until then, Elysium's provisions will surely last as long as you adhere to my suggestions about recycling."

Ulysses sighed and dropped back into his chair. "It's going to be a close call. But, I trust you Hermes. Building Elysium was quite a wager too, and yet you managed to make that work."

"Thank you, controller."

"However, nothing we've discussed requires that I be here. So why did you request my presence?"

Hermes cleared his throat. "Well, as you can maybe imagine, it's getting a bit crowded down here and I really don't have the means to make the facilities child-proof…"

Ulysses interrupted him. "You kept all the prototypes?"

"Where else would I put them?"

"Why didn't you simply dispose of the failures?"

Hermes stared at him incredulously. "They are children! I assumed we would find adequate positions for them according to their strengths and specifications. Just as we agreed for Argus."

"And you thought I'd take in a bunch of brats in addition to Argus? On Elysium, perhaps? Are you mad?"

"But it's too dangerous for them down here! There have been various accidents. Prototypes B and F were… I was too late to save them…"

"I'd call that natural selection," Ulysses coolly replied. He would not let Hermes' sentimentalities get the better of him. "Don't forget, their intended purpose will require their deaths."

Hermes swallowed whatever else he'd been about to say. For a while, he remained still and thoughtful, until he finally said in a small voice, "At least allow me to show them to you."

Ulysses grimaced. He was tempted to curse Hermes along with this insane plan of his, but the Controller was only too aware of his reliance on the old coot. Maybe he could come up with a compromise that would satisfy them both. "All right, if it won't take too long."

Hermes nodded and gestured for Ulysses to follow, though his movements lacked the energy from when they had first arrived. The room that was their destination lay underground, partially concealed. The door was secured with several different locks, and Hermes smiled apologetically as he opened them. "Better to be safe than sorry. Some of them are already quite skilled when it comes to breaking out."

Ulysses followed him inside and found himself surrounded by a gaggle of rambunctious boys dressed in rags. The oldest among them looked about three years old, while the youngest could not even crawl. Their faces were identical, but each one sported a different hair color.

Hermes smiled proudly. "I thought it would be a good idea to distinguish them by their hair. I've also given them designations according to the order in which they were designed. Not every design was immediately realized though. I developed the plans for C over there," he pointed at a green-haired toddler, "after B proved himself far too prone to take dangerous risks. But, I also had plenty of other ideas, so I postponed his production for a time. Sadly, I was correct about his unsuitability as a soldier. While he is far more guarded and analytical in his decision-making, he lacks the drive I wanted, to the point of being almost listless. Now, with G, I was –"

"Fascinating." Ulysses interrupted him with a voice that sounded anything but. He pushed aside some of the children. "I'll make you an offer. I'm prepared to take one, and only one. That's all I can accommodate on Elysium. Besides, it would be an extreme security risk to set more of this lot lose in the White City."

Hermes looked deeply unhappy at this pronouncement. "And you really cannot…"

"One or none."

"Well then, as you say." Hermes scanned the room. "D currently gives me the biggest headache. If you –"

"I'll take this one." Ulysses pointed at the green-haired boy Hermes had indicated before. The boy couldn't be more than a year old, and had spent the whole time sitting and staring at the two adults.

"Cletus? I mean, Prototype C? But he is the least troublesome of the whole bunch!"

"Which makes him the best candidate for Elysium, don't you think?"

"But that does nothing to solve my problem."

"I told you my terms, and you agreed."

Hermes stared at Ulysses for a moment, then turned around abruptly, went over to Prototype C, picked him up, and carried the toddler over to Ulysses. Hermes patted the boy's head when he handed him over, and Ulysses thought he might have seen tears welling up in Hermes' eyes. The old coot had always been a bit melodramatic.

"You mentioned a name?" asked Ulysses.

"Yes, I've started using names, according to their designations. This is Cletus, and over there we have…"

"All right. I'll see where I can house him." Ulysses hurried out of the room before Hermes could start another attempt to win him over. But, he noted with relief, the older man did not follow.

Ulysses found the exit without too much trouble, and the Organons were actually helpful during their escort back to Upper Ascension Station. They didn't seem bothered in the least that the Controller wasn't alone anymore. Ulysses sighed inwardly. He could only hope that Hermes would find the right mix for his prototypes soon. Even then, however, they would not be able to manage with Elysium supporting from a distance. He would need to supply the clones with better armor. A leader would also be required to guide them, and until Argus came of age, this task would probably fall to Ulysses.

He sighed and glanced at the green-haired tyke in his arms. The boy had started whining softly as soon as they had left the confines of the facility. This was going to be one of those days… 

* * *

"Can't you get him to stop crying?"

Ulysses gave his fiancée a desperate look. "If I knew how to do that, I would have done so already." He put his helmet on a cabinet and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He spent the whole journey here making a fuss. I would have thought he'd be glad to get out of the dirt, but he simply cannot be satisfied. I can't remember Argus ever being like this."

Una swept her strawberry-blonde hair from her face and regarded the wailing child that had been deposited on her living room carpet. "Maybe he's hungry?"

"I already tried giving him something to eat, but he ignored me. He busied himself with examining my helmet for a while, but when I had to take it from him, he started up again."

That gave Una an idea. She hurried into her bedroom and returned a short time later with a fistful of combs, hair clips, and a small mirror. Ulysses watched her, totally bewildered, but as soon as Una placed these things in front of Cletus, the crying ceased. The mirror seemed especially entrancing, and as the young boy eyed himself Ulysses noticed, for the first time, a smile spread across his little face.

Una dropped into an armchair and gave a smile of her own – triumphant, but lacking any real mirth. "Well, now that that's settled, what were you thinking? Bringing him here just like that? First Argus, and now another kid? I thought you were serious about us, but you keep showing up here with children without so much as a word to me beforehand. I thought we wanted to have our own children one day."

Ulysses sighed. "Believe me; I really didn't plan this. And I'm not about to keep him here. As soon as I've cleaned up a bit and washed off Deponia's stench, I'll settle this affair. I have a number of friends who still owe me a favor, or whom I might be able to talk into taking him in."

Una frowned warily. "Let me guess: you want to go to Denesha?"

Ulysses suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "You have no reason to be jealous. Denesha is nothing but an old friend. Let me remind you, she is married to someone else. But, if it will make you feel better, give her a call and ask her to come here while I take my shower. Then you can be present as we discuss everything."

Una pursed her lips as she mulled this over. "Fine, okay. Try not to stay in the bathroom forever, though. I'd prefer to have all of this dealt with before Argus comes home. The house bot accompanied him to the Fun Zone so he can let off a bit of steam there instead of on our furniture.”

Ulysses had guessed as much. The boy had a distinctive need for movement and stayed in excellent shape. He doubted that the younger prototype would ever measure up – but that wouldn't be his problem. Giving a nod to Una, he stood and hurried into the bathroom.

Getting rid of the grime that clung to everything on Deponia's surface, seeping into cracks and threatening to suffocate, was a wonderful feeling. Ulysses hadn't forgotten Una's plea for him to make haste, but now that he had warm, pure water streaming over him, he had trouble finding the willpower to stop. He surmised he had taken longer than originally planned, for as he returned to the living room clad in a fresh bathrobe, he found Denesha sitting on the couch, chatting with Una.

To his relief, he noticed Cletus sitting on Denesha's lap while she combed his green hair. The toddler seemed to enjoy the attention. "Whoever would give away such a sweet boy?" Denesha asked, and at that moment, Ulysses knew he had already won.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you that," he interjected. Both women focused on him, Una with an indignant frown, Denesha with a smile. Cletus seemed to immediately realize that he was no longer the center of attention, and responded by pulling at Denesha's collar until she went back to absentmindedly brushing his hair.

Ulysses returned the smile and sat in an empty armchair. "I'm so glad you were able to come here, Denesha. I assume that Una has already told you that we are seeking a nice home for little Cletus here."

"She did, but to be honest, she was quite vague about where this boy came from, and why he can't stay there."

"As I said, I'm not allowed to tell you much. I picked up the little one on a mission. Taking him back is out of the question, but he deserves a loving home."

Right on cue, Cletus placed a small, pale hand on one of Denesha's. Ulysses had to give it to him; the child had some talent at ingratiating himself. Denesha sighed and hugged Cletus tightly. "I should probably talk to Divius first… but we have plenty of space, and I'm sure Divius won't mind. He'll need papers however…"

"I'll take care of that," interrupted Ulysses. He could scarcely believe his luck, finding a solution so easily. "Believe me, he's a good boy. You won't regret this."


	2. Chapter 1

_9 years later_

"Oh, come on, Cletus. Or are you scared?"

"This has nothing to do with being scared. I'm just not a total moron."

The whispering emanated from behind a set of large flower tubs on the lower promenade. The owner of one voice, a boy of about eight years, bore a squint that morphed into a frown. "I'm not a moron either. Wanting to see something for yourself and not trusting the grown-ups don't make you stupid."

The older boy slicked back his green hair and snorted. "Man, Arron, you'd risk your life to see something as revolting as Deponia? That doesn't sound like a sign of intelligence to me."

"That's why I want your help – so nothing happens to me." Arron edged closer and gave Cletus a conspiratorial grin. "Come on, big brother."

The scowl on Cletus' face deepened. Cletus was two years older, and up until this point, Arron had followed his lead in all things. However, over the past few weeks, Cletus' younger brother had not only caught up to but had also surpassed his elder sibling's height by a few centimeters. Since then, Cletus could have sworn that there was a mocking undertone whenever Arron called him "big brother".

"Had I known what foolish ideas you have in mind, I would never have agreed to come here," said Cletus. "I have much better things to do than getting caught up in one of your schemes."

Arron rolled his eyes. "Like what? Sitting in front of the mirror and combing your hair?"

The response was immediate and indignant. "Mom likes my hair."

"Mom also wants us to spend more together."

"That doesn't include helping you get yourself killed."

"I already told you–" Arron paused mid-sentence before flouncing away. "You know what, forget it. You're such a stick in the mud, Cletus. Sometimes I can hardly believe we're supposed to be related."

A knot formed in Cletus' throat. Though he dared not give voice to it, a similar idea plagued him of late. Since he'd been old enough to understand heredity, he had wondered how his mother's skin could be a deep brown while his own was as pale as curdled milk. Arron had inherited their mother's looks, and Divius, whom Cletus refused to call father, bore only a passing resemblance to him if one squinted hard enough. Leave it to fate to make Cletus look like a person he wanted no relation with.

Against his better judgment, Cletus followed after Arron. "Hold on a second. Maybe we can figure something out if you want to see the planet so badly."

A smile broke across Arron's face. "I scouted several spots. Up in the habitat ring there's a great view, but the levels below are so wide that I could only see a little bit of Deponia."

"That's because Elysium is shaped like a diamond," explained Cletus. "At least, Miss Melly in school keeps saying so. The upper levels taper off, the Chill-Out-Zone and the Fun-Zone in the middle are wider, and the lower parts of the station become narrow again. At the lowest point are the airlocks for the highboat."

"I bet we'd see the planet best from there," said Arron, grin widening with anticipation.

"Sure we would." Cletus rolled his eyes at his brother's naïveté. "All we'd have to do is break into the computer core and delete the elevator safety protocols keeping us up here."

"Are you going to offer any ideas? Or is talking down at people your only talent?"

Cletus raised an eyebrow. "Did you check the Fun Zone's outer rim for gaps or places where the wall isn't quite so high?"

Arron sighed. "The wall's taller than an adult all around. The intermediate levels aren't so bad, but you can't see from them anyway." He moodily kicked at the floor. "I don't get it. I mean, isn't there a force field keeping the air inside of Elysium? Why do we need such high walls?"

"The architects of Elysium probably thought it best to not inflict the sight of Deponia on anyone."

Cletus' snide comment appeared to have no effect on Arron. "Well, there are some spots where I think I could climb the wall, with a bit of help maybe, but that still leaves the security bots. They show up too quickly, and we'll be in big trouble if they catch us. However, if you can distract Ronny, and then help me up, I think we can manage."

"Distract Ronny?" Cletus didn't relish the idea of interacting with Elysium's artificial intelligence. "You're aware that it's just a program, right? And it has sensors everywhere."

"Yeah, sure," said Arron, waving his hand dismissively. "But if you say that there's an emergency and he sends his bots to take a look, it will be some time before they can get back."

Cletus groaned. "You owe me for this, you got that?"

"So you'll do it?"

"It's not as if I'll get any peace and quiet otherwise."

Arron beamed, grabbing his brother's wrist and dragging him deeper into the Fun Zone. He confidently led them past the mini golf and turned left at the fitness arena. Soon after, Arron pretended to spot something on the ground and motioned for Cletus to crouch low with him.

"One of Ronny's terminals is just over there, near the fitness arena." Arron tilted his head ever so slightly in the terminal's direction. "Just tell him that we were playing in the gym when some older boys threatened to beat us up. It's not even a lie; it just happened on a different day. When he sends the bots over, we run to the wall, and you can help me climb up."

Cletus was impressed despite himself. Apparently, Arron had spent quite a while contemplating how to achieve his goal. A shame that the goal itself was so stupid.

Reluctantly, Cletus set himself in motion. He wasn't all that good at acting – but, as Arron had said, it wasn't as if the situation he was supposed to fake had never taken place. If he reached for it, he could still remember the anger and frustration from being hassled during training. He steeled himself and approached the terminal.

The proximity sensors responded immediately, and from a circular slot rose the avatar of Elysium's artificial intelligence. "Rrrronnnyyy!" announced the sunglasses-wearing, ukulele-toting potted flower. Not for the first time, Cletus wondered what had gotten into the creators of Elysium when they designed and programmed this AI. He assumed they had tried to make it cheerful and had instead ended up with annoying.

"Ronny!" Cletus did his best to sound scared and out of breath. "You've got to help me. There are some bullies rampaging in the fitness arena."

"Oh, you poor thing," squealed the flower. "How lucky that you got out of there. Otherwise, you might still be in danger."

"Yes, yes; but my brother is still in there. And they threatened to beat him up!"

"Aw, that's no fun. That would really ruin anyone's day in the Fun-Zone."

"Right. So, could you maybe take care of it?"

"Sure I will," the flower chortled. Cletus fought the urge to rip it from its socket. "The security bots are already on their way."

"Good. I'll go see my brother then."

"No, no, that would be far too risky. You just bravely escaped from the danger zone. Better stay here now that you're safe."

Cletus cursed silently. How typical of Arron to not anticipate this. "I, um, I'm running late. I really have to go home for dinner – I mean, to prepare dinner. I mean, help the house bot do it… and I have to tell my parents what happened. To my brother. That you saved him. Got to tell them that. Now."

He whirled about and took off, not waiting for an answer. Belatedly, he realized he was running in the wrong direction.

A small detour later Cletus reached the outer wall of the Fun-Zone and ran along it until he finally discovered Arron waiting behind a support.

"What were you doing? It took you forever!"

Cletus was too out of breath to answer more than "Idiot!". He leaned against the wall and folded his hands so that Arron could step into them as he climbed. He wasn't thrilled that the soles of his brother's shoes would contact his hands, but at this point Cletus simply wanted to get things over with. At least Arron's shoes were reasonably clean. A moment later, Arron lay atop the half-meter wide, gleaming white wall, inching further and further forward.

"Can't you see it yet?" hissed Cletus.

"It's all fuzzy. Maybe that's because of the force field. I'll try to get a bit further out. Hold my legs."

"It's probably because of the smog down there." Cletus felt close to losing his nerve, but he grabbed Arron's ankles as instructed. "Just hurry it up."

He had hardly finished his admonishment when Arron lost his grip and began to slide over. Terrified, Cletus clung to Arron's trouser legs, but his brother's weight threatened to lift him off the ground. Panic overtook him; what would mom say if he lost Arron? Cletus surely wouldn't get his brother's room. They'd probably downsize his own instead.

He felt the fabric slipping from his grasp and abandoned all restraint. "RONNY!"

A metal arm extended overhead and seized Arron's arm, pulling him to safety. Cletus slumped to the ground alongside his brother as the security bot loomed overhead. Arron was wailing as loudly as he could, but Cletus didn't dare look up.

Oh, bugger!

* * *

 

Cletus had been expecting trouble, but when an hour had passed in protective custody and neither Mom nor Divius had shown up to take them home, he knew he had been far too optimistic.

At first, he had tried to talk to Arron. However, no matter how calmly and clearly he explained that the whole mess was his brother's fault, Arron remained unreasonable, crying even louder. Perhaps he was just too young and stupid to get it.

This left Cletus to spend his time formulating the right words to convince Mom that he hadn't done anything wrong, and should in fact be rewarded for saving Arron's life. He had reached version number 22 when the door finally opened.

They both looked up, and Arron even stopped bawling for a moment. But it wasn't Mom. It wasn't Divius either. Instead, Divius' mother Auria rushed in and immediately wrapped Arron in a tight hug. "Granny?" the boy whispered in confusion. Auria's ostentatious display of affection was hardly anything new, but she usually had the presence of mind to greet him first.

"Oh, my poor dear," breathed Auria, without so much as a glance in Cletus' direction.

"Granny, have you come to take us home?" Arron's voice hitched from all the crying he had done. "Why didn't Mom or Dad come to pick us up?"

She still didn't let go of her grandson, maybe so she wouldn't have to look him in the eyes, so instead, she eyed Cletus over Arron's shoulder. Cletus knew that her opinion of him was almost as low as that of her son Divius, but then some internal calculation finished and she gestured for him to come closer. When he complied, she extended her embrace to him as well.

"You have to be very brave now. There was a very bad accident. Your mother…"

Cletus gave a start and retreated out of reach. "Is Mom at the hospital?"

"I'm so sorry. There was no way to save her." 

* * *

 

There were some details Cletus could remember very clearly: how he arrived home to see friends and acquaintances of the family, mostly colleagues of Divius', standing or sitting in the living room. Divius looked more shaken than Cletus had ever seen him. The house bot flitted about, offering refreshments as if there were all just having a dinner party.

But other details faded into the background: who it had been to finally send him to his room. Whether he had eaten something that evening. If he had brushed his hair before going to bed, as he had done every day since deciding that he was too old to have Mom help him with it.

When he awoke the next morning, he needed a moment to confirm that the previous day hadn't been some lurid nightmare.

Then he went about his usual routine. Let Arron do the crying. Cletus was already ten years old, no longer a baby. Mom had always valued a clean and orderly household, and Cletus intended to keep things that way.

When he returned from the personal sanitary area adjacent to his room, contemplating which suit he would wear today, he stopped short.

A stranger was standing in his room.

He wasn't one of Divius' business associates, Cletus was fairly certain.

This man had short brown hair, a narrow face with a long, straight-bridged nose, and wasn't very tall; nothing extraordinary there. What stood out about him was his baggy, rust-red jumpsuit, a major deviation from the form-fitting white suits that were in fashion on Elysium.

"Who are you?" Cletus asked briskly.

The man gave him a friendly smile. "For the time being, I will be your service unit. Because of yesterday's tragic events, the Council of Elders has decided to withdraw all robots for a check-up. This is merely a precaution, of course."

"Oh." Cletus was aware of Elysium's cloning facilities, outfitted in case the bots failed for some reason. In the facilities, Ronny could create servants made from flesh and blood. This was the first time Cletus witnessed them being utilized, however. He watched the clone move to make his bed and frowned. "Can't you do that when I'm at school?"

The service clone paused in its motions and once again displayed an empty, polite smile. "As I was told, both you and your brother are exempt from attending school until your mother's returning ceremony."

"Oh." Cletus' mind felt exceptionally slow today. "When will she… I mean, when is the ceremony scheduled for?"

"Two or three days at the earliest, I'm afraid. Since station systems are currently busy checking the security routines, the ceremony cannot yet be held in a proper manner."

Cletus glanced aside. He didn't know what to think. He had attended a returning ceremony once before, back when one of Denesha's uncles had died of old age. He remembered many monotonous and probably sugar-coated speeches about the deceased before the body was transferred to the central complex. There, it was separated into its constituent components and returned to the circle of life – or something like that. His yawning during the whole affair had bordered on the theatrical, but Mom had cried so much that Cletus could only assume that the ordeal had meant something to her. He now resolved to look flawless at Mom's returning ceremony, and to perform with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Would you like to take your breakfast now, young sir?" The clone interrupted his thoughts, gesturing towards the tray it had placed on Cletus' desk.

"Why should I be eating in my room? Is there something wrong with the dining room too?"

"Your brother preferred to not have any company for now. I was instructed to advise you to remain in your room for the time being."

"What?" Cletus' first instinct was to tell the clone where it could shove its instructions. On the other hand, he wasn't keen on forcing his way out only to run into Divius later.

The clone observed his conundrum and raised an eyebrow. "If I may say so, your brother is handling his loss in a markedly different fashion from you. He was hardly responsive this morning, and made no attempt to prepare for school."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cletus clenched his jaw and glared at the service clone. Had it suggested that he should be following Arron's example? Of course he felt the same grief, but…

Uncertainty rose within him, but his anger pushed it aside. "What do you even know? You're just a clone! You don't even have a mother!"

This time the clone didn't smile in response. It simply nodded and returned to doing Cletus' chores.

Cletus watched it work for a while. When his stomach had unclenched itself, he sat down at his desk and began to eat his breakfast. He could hear the clone rummaging about behind him, but he couldn't bring himself to look at it again. It didn't deserve any attention anyway. After all, it was just a clone.

 


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to see Elysian kids in school learning about Utopia. Cletus is having a bad day, though.

Cletus checked his appearance in the mirror again and smoothed his eyebrows. He had woken up earlier than usual today, wanting to give himself adequate time to prepare for the funeral.

He had started by washing his hair and styling it with gel according to the latest fashion, but just as he finished, a thought occurred to him and he washed his hair again to start anew. This time, he combed back his green locks in the manner Mom had always liked best. After all, this day was for her.

Today, her mortal remains would be returned to Elysium's cycle of life.

Eavesdropping at the door throughout the morning, Cletus had heard Arron crying continuously but hadn't thought much of it. His little brother simply lacked self-control. Arron had probably not anticipated how swollen his eyes would be, and how red and snotty his nose would look. Cletus was certain that Mom, who had always appreciated a prim and proper lifestyle, would have been delighted to see the refined manner in which he was choosing to handle this difficult situation.

He had just applied lotion to his cheeks when the door behind him opened and Divius stepped through. Cletus pressed his lips together, both out of annoyance and to keep himself from expressing what he thought of people who couldn't be bothered to knock. Judging by Divius’ expression, this had been a wise move. Perhaps the man shared in Cletus' lack of enthusiasm for the ceremony ahead, yet lacked the composure to hide it.

Not for the first time, Cletus wondered what had caused Mom to marry Divius. He was well-toned, with chiseled features and silky, shimmering hair, but nothing special so far as appearances went. Besides a reasonable amount of wealth and influence, Divius had nothing to offer except for charm, for those who found that sort of thing appealing.

That charm was conspicuously absent from the stare Divius now leveled at Cletus. After several uncomfortable moments of this treatment, Divius suddenly declared, "You won't be coming with us, Cletus."

Great, now there were two people in the house who had taken leave of their senses. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The returning ceremony. I don't want you to go."

Cletus stared, agape. Before he could recover enough to object, Divius pushed ahead mercilessly. "We've all pretended enough. You don't belong in this family. Just look at you. You haven't shed a single tear for Denesha. Instead, you sit here, preening in front of the mirror."

A lump had formed in Cletus' throat, leaving his voice a raspy whisper. "But Mom used to..."

Divius seized his collar and pulled him around so that Cletus was once again facing his own pale reflection.

"Don't call her your mother," his foster father hissed. "I don't know where such a cold-hearted little monster like you came from, but you are definitely not Denesha's child. Arron told me what you did; how you distracted the safety bots. I don't know what you were planning to do and at this point I don't care. Your actions endangered us all, and cost the life of the only person to ever care about you."

Divius finally released him and straightened up. "I propose a deal. You can stay here and keep your room, your pocket money, and whatever other basics you might need. In return, you stay away from Arron. You never call Denesha your mother again. It's a better offer than you deserve, but I have my good name to consider. It probably wouldn't look good to simply turn out a child, but you can be sure that I would rather risk the gossip than risk you coming too close to my family again."

Cletus couldn't face him. His hands twisted the tight fabric of his pants as he tried to conceal his rising panic. What if Divius actually kicked him out? Could he be expelled from Elysium entirely? Just yesterday the thought would have been laughable, but in less than a day, Cletus had found his safe, comfortable existence upended. He refused to lose any more of it, no matter how cruel and unreasonable Divius' demands were.

"Well, what do you say?" Divius prodded. "Do we have an agreement?"

Cletus nodded.

He stayed in his chair, staring at his hands, until he felt sure that Divius was gone.

* * *

Cletus continued to hang his head as he made his way through the streets of Elysium. There wasn't much to see anyway; it was much later than when he usually set out to school and most Elysians were busy either there or with other activities. Some of them had real work to attend to, but most were merely making extended visits to the Fun-Zone or the Chill-Out-Zone. A few latecomers were still out and about, too wrapped up in their own concerns to pay any mind to a single sullen child.

Nevertheless, Cletus felt a glare on the back of his head, as if every person on Elysium knew of his precarious position and were awaiting the opportunity to topple him from it.

He was still wrestling with that thought when he reached the elevators connecting Elysium's levels. Usually, he would encounter enough children here to make riding the elevator a crowded, unpleasant experience. As much as he despised the pushing and jostling, the silence and emptiness today were somehow worse. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Normally it was unnecessary to use the elevator controls to reach the right level. Ronny's programmers were clever enough to make the AI predict that groups of young students would want to go to the school level below the habitat area. Today, however, Cletus was alone, and he hesitated in front of the controls. He knew where he needed to go, but instead of pressing the button for the school level, he instead pressed the button that called forth the embodiment of Elysium's artificial intelligence.

"Rrrrronnnnyyy!"

Cletus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Hello, Ronny."

"Hello, young man. Well, aren't we a bit late for school? I do hope you're staying safe and sound."

"Uhm, yes." Cletus fumbled for the right words. "Say, Ronny... before you take me to the school level, I need to ask you a question. You know that there was quite a bad accident a few days ago?"

"Oh, yeees! The technicians checked my safety routines for hours and hours. It was hardly necessary, but if it makes these fine people feel better, I'm naturally willing to subject myself to such procedures."

"Hardly necessary?" Cletus frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't want to bother you with such dreary tales," replied Ronny in his cheeriest voice. "Let's just go to the school level, and then you can spend the rest of the day playing with your classmates and forgetting all your worries!"

Cletus slammed his hands on either side of the hologram. "No! Ronny, please - I need to know! Tell me what happened!"

The AI's avatar adjusted its sunglasses. "Well, there was a defective railing, and when a woman leaned against it, it gave way and she fell to the level below. Of course, I immediately sent my sanbots to her, but she was beyond help."

"So the bots weren't busy somewhere else? They weren't delayed at all?"

Ronny waved his leaves dismissively. "So that's what this is about? Naturally, I remember you requesting my bots as well, but I have plenty at my disposal. No, no, the actual problem was not the bots; it was a deficit in the structure due to cheap materials. No inspector wants to hear that, though. It would require time and resources to fix, and who has either to spare?" The flower chuckled ruefully. "But don't you worry. They have repaired the railing and it won't break again anytime soon. At least, not in the same spot."

Cletus pushed off the wall and stood ramrod straight. After a breath or two, he gave a firm nod, as if finally comprehending some deep truth. "If I were an inspector, I wouldn't be satisfied with doing things by halves."

Ronny's chuckle sounded genuine this time. "Well then, you better stop wasting your time from now on. You have a calling to prepare for."

* * *

Elysium's school occupied a rather large complex, given that the station housed less than ten thousand people total. On the other hand, the Elysians placed great importance on small class sizes and, in the case of the rich and powerful, one-on-one lessons for their children.

In many areas, bots and interactive learning stations took care of conveying knowledge, leaving the several human teachers to impart Elysian culture upon the youth. A prime member of the latter group was Miss Melly, whose actual name was Melusine, but who had convinced herself that it would be too difficult for children to pronounce. At first, Cletus had resolved to prove otherwise by consistently using her full name. Rather than being pleased, the woman had elected to ignore him until he gave up the effort and submitted to her preconceptions - which, judging from her pleased reaction, had been her only real concern.

Cletus placed an ear on the door to his classroom and grimaced. That sound was, without a doubt, Miss Melly leading the class through a merry song about the gardens of Elysium. He did enjoy singing, though he preferred to make the lyrics about himself, and the teacher was at least tolerable, but today he had been hoping for an emotionless bot.

As expected, when he entered the room Miss Melly halted the song, allowing all five of his classmates to turn around and ogle him. So be it. He displayed an expression of practiced indifference - the keyword being 'practiced'.

"Cletus?" Miss Melly adjusted her glasses as if attributing his sudden appearance to a flaw in her eyewear. "What are you doing here? I thought today was the day of your mother's returning ceremony?"

Having the others seated allowed Cletus to look down as he spoke, making the next part a bit easier. "Well, what can I say?" Cletus replied, layering his voice with scorn. "If I wasted my time with such things, I might risk dropping to the same level as everyone else." He was relieved to have completed his pre-rehearsed speech without his voice shaking even slightly.

The effect was as desired as well. Miss Melly's jaw dropped, and it seemed to take all of her restraint not to send him right back out the door. "Take a seat, then." She cleared her throat, regaining her stature. "Let's proceed, everyone!"

The looks Cletus received from his classmates as he walked to his desk in the front row were dirty enough to rival the sludge that passed for water on Deponia. If his plan worked, then they would be too incensed by his insult to bring up whatever inane condolences they had no doubt been coached to offer. It would make it a lot easier to evade the topic of his moth- of Denesha.

Miss Melly reached for the controls in her desk. "Well, after finishing our song 'Bright Elysium' - or at least, almost finishing," here she gave Cletus a stern look, "let's continue with another wonderful topic: Utopia. Perhaps your parents have already told you about what this means. Yes, Lucia?"

A girl with long, black hair sitting to the left of Cletus lowered her arm. "My parents said we are going to travel to Utopia in a few years. They also said that Utopia will become like Deponia very quickly if we don't learn from the mistakes of our forefathers."

Miss Melly's lips curled. "Oh dearie, I'm sure your parents didn't mean for that to sound so dark. We will have the chance to start anew on Utopia."

"Is it true that we're going to blow up Deponia and ride the detonation wave to Utopia? It sounds so cool!" came a voice from behind Cletus.

"Yes, Ennio, that is correct. It is a tremendous undertaking however, and the preparations will take several more years."

Lucy raised her hand again but spoke before the teacher could call her. "But what about the Deponians?"

"I'm afraid the conditions on our home planet have become so hostile that there couldn't be anyone left by now," Miss Melly answered, careful to appear suitably distressed.

Cletus folded his arms. "And if they haven't done it already, they still have a few years to kick the bucket."

That brought him a scowl from his teacher and an appalled stare from Lucia. He rolled his eyes. "What? Given how disgusting it is down there, I'm sure any survivors will welcome the detonation when it comes. A quick, clean end is infinitely preferable to years of malingering."

Miss Melly cleared her throat. "Well, be that as it may, our topic of discussion is Utopia. I have here some artists' renditions of what Utopia may look like." She used her desk controls to make the diascope project a lovely, blossoming landscape on the wall behind her. "I would also like to study the song 'Where the Meadows are Green' with you. I'll load it into your mini cartridges and sing it for you while you take in the sights. I expect all of you to have the lyrics memorized by next week."

She started the background music and began to sing:

"Where the meadows are green

Yes, this makes us so keen

Going to Utopia, to Utoopiaaa..."

Cletus rested his chin on one hand and regarded the pictures thoughtfully. They weren't all that impressive though. Elysium had its own gardens and parks to simulate nature, and Cletus had never felt any particular desire to see more. There were plenty of other interesting things to do with his spare time.

"There the skies are so blue

Yes, I know this is true

Going to Utopia, to Utoopiaaa..."

The next image showed a group of young people in very skimpy outfits lounging in the shade of some trees, drinking cocktails. Cletus wondered if Miss Melly had remembered to audit these pictures beforehand, and if this exhibition was really meant for ten-year-olds.

"Red flowers in bloom

We will be there so soon

Going to Utopia, to Utoopiaaa..."

The same group now appeared playing with frisbees and making a big deal about the fun they were supposedly having. The artist, Cletus reflected, failed to realize that people could do all of these things on Elysium right now. How was this meant to excite him, or anyone else for that matter?

"Our happiness complete

Life so very sweet

When we'll be there at last

Sadness a thing of the past..."

Miss Melly's enthusiasm grew with every line. His classmates were slowly getting into the spirit as well, so Cletus decided to reward her efforts with a smile. Inwardly, however, he worried that this was the best life could offer.

"On Utopia, Utopia, Utooopiiiaaaa"

He had never felt this empty.

* * *

"I already know what I'm going to write," Ennio crowed as he sauntered back to the elevators after school. For homework, Miss Melly had tasked them with writing about their future lives on Utopia. "I'll have a huge house, much bigger than our apartment here. And I'll get more house bots, one for each room!"

Cletus raised an eyebrow. "That's assuming you have the necessary resources, of course."

"Well, you've got to have some standards," Ennio said. "I mean, in a pinch, clones will do as well, but I'm honestly glad they're all gone again. At least the house bots don't start talking to you unless you want them to."

Lucia hugged her school bag close, growing upset yet again. "Oh, that's right. I didn't even notice it this morning, but the clones disappeared and the house bots came back. I wanted to ask the service clone in our home how long he was going to stay, and where he'll go once the check-up of the bots finished. I completely forgot."

Upon reaching the elevators, the children split into groups based on where in the habitat levels their apartments were. Cletus didn't live far from Ennio and Lucia, so the three of them often shared an elevator along with two older children. Cletus would have preferred to ride in silence, but apparently Ennio did not share his sentiments. "Oh Lucia, the clones don't go anywhere. It would be a big waste of biomass if they stuck around when they aren't needed. They get broken down into their components so everything is available in case the bots start malfunctioning again."

Lucia paled at that. "You mean, they get a returning ceremony?"

"Not a ceremony. Though I guess the tech behind it is rather similar."

There was also the slight detail that the clones were still alive when they were sent to the returning facilities, Cletus thought. Judging by how Lucia was tearing up as they left the elevator, she'd managed to figure out that out as well.

Ennio bid them farewell and Cletus continued along with Lucia. How annoying that they'd somehow gotten back to the topic of returning ceremonies.

What if she said something? How should he react?

There, they had arrived. Now he simply had to be quick about saying goodbye.

"Uhm, Cletus, I only wanted to tell you..."

Oh, bugger!

"Goodness, Lucia, don't turn this into such a big deal," he snapped. "They're only clones, not real people."

From the perplexed look she gave him, Cletus knew that this wasn't what she had wanted to talk about, but with any luck it would have bought himself enough time to make a hasty retreat.

Unfortunately, she recovered from her surprise faster than expected. Stepping up to him, she quickly reached out and pulled his slight frame into a tight hug. Then she whispered "I'm so sorry", let him go, and hurried away without looking back.

* * *

Darkness descended over Elysium. As Deponia turned, it dragged Elysium around via the main cable connecting the two until the planet sat between the space station and the sun like a big, dirty shield.

Cletus sat on his bed and regarded his small domain. From the soft carpet to the baroque furniture, from his shelf bearing a collection of dictionaries to the well-sorted boxes of toys and gadgets, everything was just the way he liked it. He belonged here, and the mere thought of having to give any of this up was enough to cause him physical pain.

Divius and Arron still hadn't returned, but as far as Cletus was concerned, they could stay away for a little longer. He didn't mind being alone, especially since the house bot had already taken care of dinner and tidied up the place. There was only one thing he missed right now. He fiddled with his hair wistfully.

At that moment he heard muted noises from the entrance area and knew that his reprieve was over. He sighed and switched off the light, but as he sat down on his bed again, the door to his room slid open. The cone of light from the hallway struck his back, yet he made no move to face his visitor.

He felt a small shape climb onto the bed next to him. Hopefully, Arron had at least taken off his shoes so that Cletus wouldn't find dirt on the sheets later tonight. A hand came to tentatively rest on his shoulder, but Cletus still couldn't bring himself to look at its owner.

"I missed you, Cletus." Arron sniffled and needed a moment before he could speak again. "It was... Mom would have wanted... I didn't like it without you. Dad said you didn't want to come, but I don't know why. You loved her too, didn't you?"

Cletus felt something tighten in his chest. Was this a test? He tried to focus on his room, full of all his material delights, but he still couldn't keep his voice from shaking a bit when he answered: "She was your mother, not mine."

He didn't dare turn his head to see Arron's face at that moment. He felt the hand slip from his arm, felt the weight leave his bed, and heard Arron's steps as he left the room without another word. As the door hissed shut, he thought he heard Divius whisper, "Well done." But maybe he was just imagining things.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We skip a few years to see what teenage Cletus is up to.

"You can't be serious!"

Cletus paused with his spoon of cereal halfway to his mouth. Normally it wasn't a good sign when Divius sounded this upset. But apparently today Cletus wasn't the one to invoke his wrath, for in the kitchen there was still no sign of his adoptive father.

Besides he had resolved not to feel all that intimidated anymore. After all, he was 16 years old by now and would probably manage on his own, should Divius stick with his threats and kick him out, though he would prefer to stay.

Cletus resumed eating and tried looking as self-confident as possible but chewing made that harder than expected.

Now Arron's voice drifted in from the living room, too. "I really don't see what's your problem. I never wanted to go to these awful receptions before!"

"But this one is a special occasion!" came Divius' reply. Cletus rested his chin on his hand and listened more intently. "You don't get invited by Prime Controller Ulysses himself every day."

Cletus raised his eyebrows. Well, that was new. Usually, the mere mention of Ulysses' name made Divius grumpy and caused him to glare at Cletus as if it was his fault the Prime Controller existed. And now he even wanted to follow one of his invitations?

"Dad, you know I don't like that guy. He's too militaristic for me. I can't stand how he keeps stressing that the Organon answers only to him and that he's doing anything to keep to the schedule till the detonation of Deponia. As if he could hardly wait to destroy the planet." Arron started sounding unusually annoyed.

"This isn't about sympathy. It's about connections, about getting into contact with people who can help you."

"So the Council of Elders may one day make up a new title just for me? Thanks, I'll pass. Or was there a 'Prime Controller' before Ulysses?" he heard Arron reply. Cletus rolled his eyes. Arron simply had no sense of class. Not that he was a huge fan of Elysium's highest ranking military officer. After all, he had never met the man as far as he could remember. But it seemed folly to him to not show Ulysses at least some respect.

"And you think to waste your time in the Fun-Zone is a better idea? Arron, you're not dumb. You're an excellent pupil and you could be even better if you only showed a bit more ambition."

Cletus hated it when he had to agree with Divius. Luckily, it was a rare occasion that they did.

"Besides," Divius continued, "you wouldn't be the only child there. The Prime Controller has a daughter your age after all."

"Yes, I know. Goal. Gosh even her name shows how obsessed her father is. He named her as a reminder how we have to reach our goal at all cost. He probably would have called her Utopia but maybe there was a copyright issue with that name."

"How do you know about those things?" That was Divius' voice.

"Dad, we are going to the same school. Not in the same class because her father wants her to have one on one lessons but her best friend Tallis is in the same class with me. And those two spend all the breaks together."

"Well, then you know each other. Splendid. You have so many things in common, too. Goal also lost her mother early and will surely understand how you feel."

Arron snorted. "Her mother died when she was born. Something went wrong and Goal almost didn't make it either. That's why she has a brain implant."

Cletus paused a moment. He knew the girl by sight but had never given her much though, besides assuming that the Prime Controller must be embarrassed by having such a madcap as a daughter. What's more, she was overly tall and thin, making her a good match for Arron, the walking beanstalk. But it was nevertheless interesting to know about Elysium's Elite. In Arron's place, he'd appreciate this invitation so much more.

"I bet you'd get along well," Divius tried again. "If only you try a little harder you could-"

"Now give it a rest!" Arron interrupted him. "The only thing you care about is your own prestige, that's suffering from me not being suitable for showing off to your peers. I simply don't see why I should play along with this game for position or whatever you want. We have enough as it is. More than that actually. But you're never satisfied!"

Cletus heard angry steps approach the kitchen and a moment later Arron stood in the doorway. Usually, Cletus took care to evade his eyes but today Arron wouldn't be in the mood for a friendly chat anyway. So he didn't even try to hide that he had heard them talking and gave his adoptive brother a challenging grin.

Arron only rolled his eyes and said in the direction of Divius who had followed him: "Why don't you take Cletus with you? I'm sure he would like that fuss."

Divius glared at Cletus. "You're still here?"

As if he didn't know that Cletus always had his breakfast around this time. While he usually tried being early enough to leave their home before Arron to keep from going to school with him, Divius could hardly expect to never meet him at all. Probably the quarrel with his son had made him forget all about Cletus. But that really couldn't be blamed on him.

Cletus pouted and murmured: "As if I wasn't always on time for school."

Divius sat down on one of the elaborately adorned chairs. He regarded Cletus so intently that he didn't dare touch his cereal. "I guess you think I should take you along, too, don't you?" he scoffed. "Pah. The way you look, I'd be crazy if I let myself be seen in your company. You can't even bring yourself to get a proper haircut."

In spite of himself, Cletus reached for the ponytail hanging over his shoulder. It wasn't like him to go with something so unfashionable but…

It had started three years ago with the beginning of puberty. He hadn't noticed it immediately but over time the lush green of his hair had turned into a plain brown. At first, he had blamed picking the wrong sort of hair care products or bad light but after a while, he could no longer ignore the change of color. Yet he couldn't bring himself to just accept it and cut off the green tips of his hair. After all, his hair had been such a strong tie to his mo-

He pushed the thought aside at the last moment but he felt like Divius had already seen through him. Sheepishly he lowered his eyes even though he was furious at himself for letting his blasé façade slip so easily.

With a snort, Divius got up again. Cletus didn't watch him leave. What else had he expected? He had never gotten away when Divius was in a bad mood.

 

* * *

 

 

"Cletus! Are you even listening?"

He blinked and realized Lucia was staring at him angrily. "Of course I'm listening. I simply thought you hadn't finished your thought and I didn't want to interrupt you."

That was a lie, of course. He actually really enjoyed interrupting others, especially because they usually had nothing interesting to say.

He wasn't listening either.

Lucia wrinkled her nose but she didn't look as indignant as before. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair and reached for her soyoccino. She sipped her beverage that actually tasted quite pleasant in spite of the lack of coffee and regarded him thoughtfully over the rim of her cup.

Cletus liked how her dark eyes glinted when she look at him like that. It was almost two years ago when his classmate became his girlfriend. He was quite a catch, of course, but he had to admit that Lucia had some assets, too. Her black hair was braided and hung down her back although he preferred it when she wore it open. If only she didn't talk so much about things that meant nothing to him.

"I'm just so worried. My grannie was even worse this morning and…"

Oh no, she was getting at it again. What did he care about someone he didn't even know? He had seen the old lady just once in passing but considering how relentlessly Lucia was talking about her grandmother's failing health she seemed convinced he should concern himself with her. He frantically thought about how to change the subject without her getting mad at him again.

"Come, let me buy you another soyoccino."

She sighed deeply but there was a hint of a smile on her lips now. "Aww, Cletus, that's really sweet of you. But we are here because of our school project, aren't we? We can't well sit in a café all afternoon."

He smirked. "There are plenty in our school who go about it doing exactly that."

"Yeah, but you can't tell me that you'd be happy with that. You can never bear being second best at anything."

His grin got even wider. She knew him too well. "I plan to get somewhere in my life."

She drank the last bit and set down the cup. Luckily this café, like most on Elysium, had an auto payment button integrated into the tables, that registered the customers and subtracted the payment for food and beverages from their accounts, so he didn't have to wait for a server to pay.

They got up and walked over to the petting zoo, where several Elysians of all ages had settled down with a—usually furry—animal of their choice. Cletus fought the urge to roll his eyes and toyed thoughtfully with his ponytail. "Why did you have to choose this topic of all things?"

Lucia was already heading towards the counter where you could order the animal you'd like to pet. But instead of using the controls, she simply sat down, got out her notepad and patted the place next to her invitingly. "You said you didn't care which topic I picked and that you could handle anything."

Sighing, Cletus took a seat and prepared his own writing equipment. "And you took that as a reason to pick the topic you like best? I thought you were going to take something we are both interested in."

"I wasn't aware that you have a problem with Elysium having a databank with the genetic profiles of threatened species."

"Threatened? You mean extinct. My problem isn't the databank itself, it's more that only oh-so-cute animals get requested and cloned to be as docile as possible so all these wimps have their entertainment."

"Are you afraid your image as a manly man will suffer when someone spots you with a cuddly animal?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I never kept my preference for the color pink a secret and you think I'm worried about my image?"

Lucia snorted. "You're _always_ worried about your image. Besides, I've not seen you wearing anything pink."

"Maybe not on top of anything – it's regrettably out of fashion – but if you only knew what I'm wearing under my suit…" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively but Lucia seemed too busy with the controls to notice.

"So, what kind of animal would you pick that's nothing for 'all those wimps'? A dragon?"

He wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic but he decided to take her suggestion serious for now. "Well, apart from the problem with limited space, that would at least be something different. If you combine the genetic profiles of several species it might well be possible."

Now it was Lucia's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You can't be serious."

Cletus made a throwaway gesture. "As I said, there is the issue with limited space. But there are smaller animals that might come close. A monitor for example. That species has some really dangerous specimen that would do nicely. They'd sure do away with all those little, useless fur balls. With razor sharp teeth and poisonous…" He noticed Lucia's horrified face and fell silent.

As if he had discovered something interesting in the list of animals the petting zoo offered for combining and cloning he hastily started taking some notes. A moment later he caught himself using his left hand instead of the "good hand" as Miss Melli had taught him. He changed the pen to his right hand when suddenly Lucia placed hers warmly on his arm.

"You know, Cletus I really do like you. But sometimes I just don't get what's going on inside in your head. And I'm sorry, but sometimes you even scare me." She sighed. "I don't think you're doing this on purpose and I guess if we only knew each other even better this wouldn't happen to me. But you keep withdrawing from me and you won't even come visit me at home."

He pursed his lips. "I don't think your parents would have appreciated seeing me more frequently."

"Well, okay, it didn't work out so well last time. Why did you have to burst out laughing when my dad drank to the poor, abandoned Deponians?"

"I simply can't take that seriously. If they care so much about these junkyard dwellers, why didn't they stay behind on the planet and gave their spots on Elysium to two Deponians? It's not like they were born on Elysium like us."

Lucia made an annoyed sound. "They were half children themselves during the evacuation." She scooted closer and added with a smirk: "Besides, if they did that you wouldn't have a girlfriend now."

He returned the grin and put his arm around her waist. "That's a very good point," he said and kissed her.

But after just a moment she pushed him back and whispered into his ear: "Did you see the Elder?"

He tried turning around not too openly but when he wasn't able to spot him quickly enough his curiosity got the better of him. Then he noticed a chubby older man with ink-black skin and a white beard. "Is that Elder Deux?"

Lucia nodded and smiled. "He is a friend of my parent's and really nice. But you sound as if you don't know him personally. I thought he was a distant relative of your mother."

Cletus pressed his lips together. He knew Deux was a great uncle of Denesha, but much to Divius' chagrin she had no interest in politics and didn't keep contact to her famous relative. He heard of Deux being present on Denesha's returning ceremony but… well.

"I know him loosely," he said evasively.

"He told us that he has dinner with your father once a month since your mom's death. Doesn't he ever take you and your brother?"

Why did she have to bring up his family? He had usually done well in evading this topic but he was slowly running out of excuses. And he'd rather die than whine about it with Lucia. He wasn't that desperate.

"He told me he'd never take me to official dinners as long as I look like this," he finally answered, gesturing towards his ponytail. He was rather proud that he had come up with something, after all.

Lucia frowned. "To be honest, I was wondering why you don't get a haircut. You've always been so eager to keep up with fashion."

And there was the next aggravating question. He was beginning to wish she'd start speaking of her dying grandmother again.

"Nostalgia?" he suggested.

She gazed him for a long time with her piercing, dark eyes. "Is it because you still had green hair when your mom was alive? And because it reminds you of her?"

He evaded her eyes. Who knew, maybe she could read minds. "Maybe."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He was already shaking his head before she had finished speaking. "Oh, Lucia, this is silly. It's only hair."

"Would it help if I accompany you to the barber?"

He wanted to hug her close and push her away at the same time. Why did she have to confuse him so much? He made an effort to let his face show nothing but his well-practiced expression of bored indifference before venturing an answer. "If you really want to admire my new haircut, you can come if you want."

She grinned again. "Well, then let's go."

He almost lost control of his features again. "What? Now?"

"Sure. Just get it over with."

Oh, bugger.

 

* * *

 

"I think it looks pretty good."

Cletus side-eyed Lucia. Of course it looked "pretty good." After all, his face was right underneath. But… "I simply have to get used to it," he replied at last.

The coiffeur, an Elysian with hair dyed dark blue and silver had been openly disappointed when Cletus rejected all of his suggestions and was now watching him thoughtfully. Apparently, he hadn't given up his endeavor to satisfy his artistic ambitions but Cletus was quite adamant that any extravagant haircuts would ruin his goal of looking a bit more inconspicuous.

In the front, the man had cut him a fringe that curled a bit inward, so his hair wouldn’t fall into his face looking all frayed but rather framed his face like waves. Anywhere else his hair was cut to chin-length and he was very unsure if hairspray and grease would suffice to keep it in place. While there was no wind on Elysium he wasn't keen on fearing for his hairdo whenever he moved his head a bit faster.

As if guessing his thoughts the coiffeur reached into a box once more and pulled out a wide hairband in the minty green that was so popular on Elysium. Cletus' eyes widened. With such a band Denesha used to hold back her own luxurious curls but they were widespread enough among Elysians of all genders to avoid standing out too much.

Without asking for his opinion the coiffeur fastened the band with a clip under the hair behind his right ear then pulled it over the back of his head and transfixed the other end behind his left ear. Then he nodded, apparently satisfied, and made a face that invited no protest.

Watching the green touch in his brown hair, Cletus smiled. "Yes, I think it can stay like this."

He got up and pushed a button at the reception desk to confirm his identity and authorize deducting the price from his account. He nodded at the coiffeur but he was already busy with his next customer and planning his next project. So he put an arm around Lucia's shoulders and turned to go.

"Whoa, since when do you have clones in the salon?" came a familiar voice from behind.

Cletus turned around in surprise and recognized Ennio, another of his classmates. "Ennio? What are you talking about?"

The other young man came closer, his face just as confused as Cletus' and stared at him intently. "Cletus? Man, I hardly recognized you. For a moment I thought you were a clone, sorry. What did you do with your hair?" he burst out before catching himself and smiling apologetically.

Cletus rolled his eyes. "I guess you need new eyes, then. Or there's something wrong with the body part behind your eyes. Besides, my hair turned brown quite a while ago, I'm simply wearing it shorter now."

Ennio kept laughing. "Oh, man, don't get me wrong but I usually don't look at you too closely. If you had Lucia's looks that might be different." He grinned tellingly and nudged Cletus.

Lucia saw his face darken and quickly linked arms with him. "Alright, shall we, Cletus? Nice meeting you, Ennio. See you tomorrow."

He let Lucia steer him out of the salon and strolled home with her.

The closer they got to her apartment the more Lucia turned silent and pensive. Cletus certainly didn't mind. He really wasn't in the mood for small-talk. With a kiss to her cheek, he told her goodbye and was on his way. But after walking for a while, he noticed that she still hadn't entered her home and was standing on the street, looking a bit lost. He decided that this was her own business and avoided looking back to her again.

Luckily neither Arron nor Divius were around when he hurried into their home and instructed the house bot to bring dinner to his room. He had to warm up to his new look himself before facing Divius with it.

In his room, he put all the notes for their school project on his desk and sat down in front of his dressing mirror. He regarded his face, those narrow, pale features that had lost most of childhood's softness, the long straight-bridged nose, his thick, dark eyebrows that were of the same brown as his hair. And he tried to remember what the clone had looked like he met in his room years ago.

With a snort, he brushed the thought aside. Ennio was an idiot, that was all there was to it. And one day, Cletus would make such a name for himself that no one misjudged him ever again.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Cletus stared down at his shoes. They were gleaming white, without a single scratch or even dirt. And from this perspective, it was hardly possible to see how thick his soles were to add a few centimeters to his height.

But in the end, his shoes were not interesting enough to justify looking at them for more than a few minutes. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing here in sight of the door leading to the apartment Lucia lived in with her family, but he was slowly but surely running out of alternatives to staring up at her window.

She hadn’t been to school today.

They had been busy going over what they had learned about programming with one of the infobots when Miss Melli came in and told them tearfully about Lucia’s grandmother passing away. Yesterday. While he had been to the Fun Zone with Lucia.

Cletus fidgeted with the white gloves, he had been wearing for the last months but of course adjusting them wasn’t even necessary.

It was so typical. Why couldn’t the old hag wait a bit longer with dying? At least until he and Lucia had held their presentation at school? Now he had to do all the work by himself. And even worse, everyone was expecting him to console Lucia.

He sighed. She had probably been crying all night, being so emotional. The mental image made him shiver.

If crying until you looked like a mess really was the accepted way to deal with these situations, why weren’t you expected not to bother anyone else with it?

Really, the longer he thought about it the more he felt sure that this couldn’t be his job. Lucia would surely get over this on her own and he’d wait until she had herself under control again and especially until she looked presentable again.

He was just about to turn away when a man’s voice intruded into his thoughts. “Cletus!”

Startled he looked up and saw Lucia’s father Narcius standing in the doorway to their apartment. He really hoped the man wouldn’t make a scene. Worried, he watched him come closer and readied himself for a scolding.

Lucia’s father regarded him for a moment then he reached out his hand. Cletus stared at him in confusion and only remembered a little late that he was expected to reciprocate.

Narcius looked almost solemn when they shook hands. “I have to admit I didn’t expect to see you here today, Cletus. Please do come in. It will mean a lot to Lucia to see you. She had been hoping so much that you’d come.”

It was even worse than he had feared! Cletus squirmed inwardly and cursed himself for not leaving earlier but now he could hardly make a run for it. Especially since Narcius put an arm on his shoulder and gently pushed him toward the door. He gave in to his fate, shuffled inside and furtively looked around.

Like in most apartments there was only a very short hallway that opened into a wide living room. But compared to Divius’ place this one was limited to one floor and the furniture was a bit simpler.

He had expected a number of guests who were with the family in their time of grief like they had come visiting after Denesha’s passing, but there was no one to be seen.

Narcius seemed to have noticed his searching gaze, for he coughed sheepishly. “My wife has retired for today. The returning ceremony took its toll on her. After all, it was her mother who she lost. Lucia is still in her room but I’ll call for her in a moment. I just wanted to use the opportunity to have a word with you.”

“Oh.” Cletus was very unenthusiastic but he sat down on the couch when Narcius invited him with a gesture to get comfortable. As long as this guy didn’t start talking about his beloved Deponians again, he should make it through this.

For a while, they were sitting in silence and Cletus alternated between feeling annoyed about his time getting wasted and relief that he was spared any uncomfortable topics.

“I didn’t know your mother all that well, but from what I heard about her, she sounded like a very warm-hearted person,” Narcius began without preamble.

Cletus stiffened involuntarily. He wasn’t sure how well Narcius and Divius knew each other and if everything he said here would find its way back to his adoptive father. He made a neutral sound that could possibly be interpreted as agreement and feverishly thought about how to change the subject.

Narcius didn’t seem to notice his discomfort and continued: “It’s been six years now but I remember well how Lucia started talking about you more and more back then. She really cared about how little help you had and wanted you to feel better.” He glanced at Cletus. “She is a wonderful person and deserves to receive as much kindness as she’s willing to give. But when she came home yesterday and heard her grandmother died while she was away it was a terrible blow to her. She feels guilty for not being home.”

Cletus felt anger rise in him. “Are you insinuating that it was my fault?”

“No, of course not. I simply thought you should know that before talking to her.” Narcius cleared his throat. “Please don’t get this wrong, my boy, but you do give me the impression that you have a hard time judging other people’s feelings. And I don’t want anyone to hurt Lucia.”

He folded his arms and pouted. “You’re still mad at me for laughing about your toast to the oh so poor Deponians, aren’t you?”

Narcius sighed and shook his head with a tinge of annoyance. “I only wanted-“

“Cletus!”

Both whirled around and saw Lucia standing in the open living room door. Her eyes were reddened and swollen, her hair uncombed and shaggy, and her nose looked rather moist even from a distance. But by now he was so tired of Narcius he nevertheless was a bit happy to see her.

Although he hadn’t said a word, she awoke from her stupor, ran to him and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug timidly but all he could think about was her runny nose being on a level with his new hairband. He carefully pushed her away a bit and hoped she wouldn’t go crazy about it.

“I knew you’d come,” she whispered hoarsely. “At least, I hoped so much for it.” She fell silent, pulled out a tissue and copiously blew her nose.

Now he only had to find a way out of this place. “Do you want to go to the Chill-Out Zone?” he burst out, glancing almost challengingly in Narcius’ direction.

She stared at him, aghast. “What? Now?”

“It would maybe distract you a bit.”

She sniffled again and rubbed her already reddened eyes. “I don’t think I’m in the right mood for fun today, but…”

“That’s why I didn’t suggest the Fun Zone,” he interjected, proud to be so understanding of his hysterical girlfriend. “But a bit of peace and distance would probably do you well.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she answered hesitantly and now he couldn’t keep from looking at Narcius triumphantly.

Potentially, this day could turn out to be not so bad after all. If he managed to distract her enough from her sorrows she might be very grateful. Maybe even so grateful that they’d get around to making out later. At least in case, she got her runny nose under control.

Lucia glanced uncertainly at her father, but to Cletus’ surprise, he reacted with a gentle smile. “If you feel up it, it may be a good idea to get a bit of fresh air. Just go and I’ll let mom know. Try to get a few happy thoughts.” He kissed Lucia’s forehead. “And please don’t feel guilty if you’re enjoying yourself.”

She hugged Narcius and breathed “Love you, dad,” into his ear. Then she linked arms with Cletus who was still preparing for the older man to say something nasty. But when nothing of that sort happened he decided not to try his luck any further and hurried outside with Lucia. 

* * *

The sun was shining. Okay, it always did and because Elysium was floating high above the clouds nothing could keep it from making the white city gleam brightly. Maybe the force field that kept the oxygen within the station also offered a bit of protection from UV radiation but Cletus wasn’t sure about that.

It wasn’t without reason that he preferred not to go to one of the parks meant to bring a bit of nature to the Elysians. He’d always regarded nature as something suspect. It started with plants needing soil, which was basically dirt, to prosper. And then all this nature stuff tended to attract a whole lot of crawlies and vermin, the grass left green spots on his trousers and the sun ruined his fine pallor.

But with Lucia being as whiny as she was, he hadn’t been in the mood to argue with her when she suggested going to the Circling Gardens. Even though that meant buying a ticket to one of the small three satellites that were floating like miniature versions of the main station at the end of thick steel cables around Elysium.

And so he ended up sitting stiffly next to his girlfriend in the shade of a… an… well… a tree. Or shrubbery. Or whatever it was. If he wanted he could look it up when he got home, but in the end, this was knowledge he didn’t want to waste any brain capacity on.

Something cool touched his head and slid down into his collar. Cletus gave a start and plucked a smooth but blotty leaf from his clothes. Disgusted he jumped to his feet and shivered. “That does it! Why couldn’t we just go to a café in the Chill-Out-Zone?”

Immediately Lucia’s eyes swam with tears again. “I always go along with what you want. And I thought just for today we’d do something that was good for me.”

He snorted. “That just goes to show that thinking is not everyone’s strongest suit.”

Now Lucia got on her feet, too, her hands clenched into fists and all tears were forgotten. “What’s wrong with you? You pretend like you want to cheer me up and now you say something so mean?”

“What’s wrong with me?” he retorted angrily. “I spend my time watching you cry and get nothing back. I don’t even want to think about how much money I spent on you and you still don’t want to make out. What am I doing this for?”

 She looked so stunned he wondered if she had even understood what he had been saying. But to his surprise, she started shaking her head and gave a humorless laugh. “Do you know what’s your problem?”

He angrily folded his arms. “Having a hysterical girlfriend?”

She didn’t react to the insult and her anger seemed to have vanished into thin air. Instead, she looked at him with pity. “You always think about yourself and that’s going to make you very unhappy one day. I thought I could help you. You were so alone all the time and I hoped you’d change if someone was nice to you for once. But you don’t even want to change. You think that all your problems are caused by others. That you never make mistakes and that it’s perfectly alright to look down at others. And you’ll go on like that even if it’ll lead to nobody wanting anything to do with you. I hope you’ll realize that yourself before it’s too late. But I’ll no longer wait for you to get that. If you insist on behaving like an asshole you can do that alone.”

With that, she turned around and stomped off without another word.

Cletus stared after her with his jaw hanging open. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a few other Elysians who had witnessed their falling out, looking at him more or less openly but for the moment he didn’t even care. Was she right? Was there something wrong with him? Did he drive everyone around him away? Would he really end up alone and unhappy?

“Women!” Cletus whirled to an older man, sauntering up to him and looking at Lucia’s receding form with a telling gaze. “Always making a scene. She’s probably on her period.”

Cletus blinked. The man didn’t look all that well-kempt, so he felt less inclined to get to know him any better. But at least he had driven away his worries. It wasn’t Cletus’ fault after all. Lucia was simply not especially sane today. He grinned and nodded to the other man. “Yes, right, must be her hormones.”

The man grinned back but when he started coming closer, Cletus was quick to say goodbye and hurried to the shuttle pods that would take him back to the main station. He half feared running into Lucia again but apparently, she already left.

Instead, he had to share a pod with an elderly couple who acted very in love and didn’t care about him rolling his eyes.

They could go to junk with all their love and affection for all he cared. He was better off alone anyway. At least now nobody would nag at him and he was free to do all the things Lucia always kept him from doing.

If only he could think of something!

After arriving at the main station, he decided against going home and moping around. He’d find a way to entertain himself, he resolved, as he made his way to the Chill-Out-Zone. First, he had a soyoccino, but when he sauntered on, he tried to fight against a persistent feeling of boredom. It was really rather vexing having no one who listened to him and kept him entertained.

But as he passed by the petting zoo, he finally got an idea. He sat down at the counter and went through the data bank of available animals. It took a while until he found what he had been looking for near the end of the list.

“A plague-spit monitor?” Ronny’s voice sounded from the interface. Cletus had never heard the artificial intelligence sound so skeptical. He bet Ronny would have raised his eyebrows if he had any. “Those are poisonous and dangerous. How are you going to pet an animal that’s going to bite you?”

Cletus groaned. “That’s my business, isn’t it? Just get me what I asked for.” He contemplated it for a moment and added: “And, uh, also bring me the antidote for the plague-spit, will you?”

“As you wish,” Ronny replied hesitantly. “You’re aware that this will cost extra, aren’t you?”

While he spent most of his allowance on skin-care and hair products, Cletus also kept his finances meticulously documented and knew he had saved quite a bit during the last years. With a dismissive gesture, he told Ronny to go ahead.

A moment later he found himself eye to eye with a lizard the size of a cat that was transported via a conveyor from a small cloning chamber directly to the table at his seat. He reached out, but when the monitor flicked its tongue he quickly withdrew his hand.

Cletus swallowed. So far the critter hadn’t moved from its spot, but he wasn’t sure if he could stop it if it decided to leave.

“Here’s the antidote you asked for,” a service bot interrupted his thoughts and set down a little bottle with pills on the counter.

Thankful for the diversion, Cletus took the bottle and had a look at the warning label. Apparently, the antidote worked quite well and quickly, but it also caused a lot of… well… gas in the digestive tract.

Okay, that made it not such a bright idea to test in public whether the monitor was going to bite him or not. While seeing his little dragon go against the other animals was an entertaining idea, getting poisoned by the plague-spit and suffering from the antidote’s side effects with such an audience, wasn’t what he had in mind.

He regarded the monitor thoughtfully. If he sent it back now, it would be transported back into the cloning chamber, where he could dimly see a great printing hammer and several outlets. He couldn’t make out any blood stains, but he knew how efficient the mechanism was when it came to reabsorbing everything. Bio mass must not be wasted.

He nibbled on his lower lip as he made a number of calculations, then he waved for the service bot. “I need a portable cage. Go and find me one, and then put the plague-spit monitor inside. I’ll pay for all the costs that may arise.”

The bot was silent for a moment as it connected to Ronny’s data banks and accessed Cletus’ account. There went his savings. But at the moment he just didn’t care.

“Very well, sir,” the service bot confirmed a moment later and went to do as it had been told.

Cletus looked at the monitor triumphantly. The animal returned the look and used the opportunity to relieve itself n the counter. 

* * *

 

Cletus was panting as he set down the cage, opened the door and tiptoed in as silently as possible. If he was careful enough, he’d be able to hide his little “Poisonous”, as he had decided to name the monitor, from Divius for quite a while. And until he’d be forced to tell the truth he had enough time to come up with something clever.

“Arron?” Divius stepped out of the living room as if he had been waiting behind the door and froze when he saw Cletus. The teenager reacted the same besides becoming even more pale than usual.

“Uhm, it’s just me,” Cletus murmured.

Divius lips curled in distaste and he half turned back to the living room door. “It’s only Cletus!” he called to whoever was in there, then he regarded his adoptive son critically. “You finally got a hair cut? Well, that’s something. But what is that thing you’re carrying around?”

“A pet,” Cletus breathed while thinking about who’d maybe take him in for the time being when Divius kicked him out. Now it would have been so useful to still have a girlfriend.

“Bring him in. I wanted to talk to him anyway,” came a woman’s voice from the living room.

Divius raised an eyebrow, but then he stepped aside and gestured for Cletus to come in. Cletus hurried past him and set the cage down next to the door in a spot where no one could stumble over it. Then he obediently approached the couch.

There sat Auria, Divius’ mother, holding a cup of real coffee in her hand. Her golden hair that she had been dying for years was pinned up in an elaborate hairdo and she looked far younger than her seventy years.

She gave Cletus a friendly nod and asked him to sit down, but he was under no illusion she might like him more than her son did. She was simply a master of keeping up appearances. So he returned her smile as he took a seat in the armchair opposite of her. Divius joined them but he didn’t bother to appear inviting.

“Well, my boy, you’re sixteen now, aren’t you? You’re looking better than I expected.” She glanced at Divius, but when he opened his mouth to protest, she made a dismissive gesture. “Well, we have seen little of each other during the last years,” she continued talking to Cletus. “But I do think it’s time to change that.”

This time Divius wouldn’t be silenced by a simple gesture. “But mother! You can’t just replace Arron with-“

“Of course not!” she interrupted him. “But I think that even Cletus can do his share for the family’s benefit. Especially as long as Arron isn’t interested in politics yet. At the very least it’s time to limit the damage Cletus could be doing. Or would you prefer if he went ahead and ruined our family’s reputation? Think of the girl he spends his time with. Her family is known for their unorthodox opinions. While they still have good contacts to the Elders, I’m expecting a fall-out and them positioning themselves against the council any day. That’s surely not the company I want my grandson to be in.”

Cletus saw Divius nod and felt encouraged to chime in. “I broke up with her today. We never were a good match anyway.” Auria’s eyes lit up and Cletus felt very pleased with himself.

“What a pleasant surprise, my boy.” Her smile became a bit more genuine.

“Not to me,” Divius growled. “As bad as that girl’s company was, the boy’s complete lack of loyalty is very worrying to me. Who’s to say he wouldn’t desert the family just the same as her if he changes his mind?”

Auria only laughed. “Then we’d better make sure that loyalty to our family is in his own best interest. After all, ignoring him will not make his ambitions go away.” She leaned back and sipped her coffee. “What do you say, Cletus: I’ll take you under my wing, teach you good manners and how to behave among the more elegant parts of society. If you’ll do well, I’ll make sure you’re no longer denied access to receptions and dinner parties of the elite.”

Cletus felt his heart beating faster. “I won’t disappoint you.”

“Yes, you better don’t. But now go to your room before Arron will come home and sees us talking together.”

“Take your pet with you,” Divius added when Cletus rose. “And take care that it won’t cross my path.” 

* * *

 

Cletus was still smiling when he dropped on his bed in his room. He couldn’t believe his luck. He’d finally get his chance! He’d do anything to get to the top.

Poisonous scratched his cage’s hatch and Cletus simply flipped the lock open. Let the monitor be happy with him.

The plague-spit monitor’s tongue hit his bare arm just above his elbow length gloves. Cletus bit his lip to keep from crying out but he was close to fainting. Darn it, this really hurt. What made it worse was a haze clouding his senses and he could barely see anymore. He reached for his eyes but his fingers felt swollen and stiff. Something green stuck to the tip of his glove and he realized with a shudder that his eyes had to be oozing this stuff.

In a panic, he started searching for the antidote. Where did he put it? At last, he discovered the pill bottle sitting on his bedside table and managed to shove a pill into his mouth and to swallow. Then he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. With every passing second, he could feel the poison’s effect wear off. Instead, there was a terrible pressure in his abdomen. He moaned and passed a lot of wind.

A moment later a scaly head appeared above the edge of the bed, but Cletus was too exhausted to react with fear. Poisonous climbed up to him and curled up next to him, the biggest source of heat in the vicinity. Cletus gingerly put his hand on the monitor’s head, who didn’t seem to mind his touch.

Well, it was a lot more prickly and colder than touching his girlfriend. But then again, you can’t have everything.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 years later Cletus is now a young inspector-in-training and does his best to rise in the ranks of Elysium's elite.

The doorbell couldn’t be heard outside on the street, but Cletus preferred the whole neighborhood not learning about his arrival anyway. He straightened his back and adjusted his collar. Recently, wide, flaring collars were the height of fashion and even though he’d rather bite off his own tongue than admit it, the most fashionable outfit didn’t equal the most practical.

Before he could begin feeling impatient, the door opened and the house bot politely invited him inside. Cletus knew the way, as he had been a frequent visitor during the last three years, but to pay his due to the demands of etiquette he obediently followed the bot into the living room where a small coffee table had been set up.

Auria smiled when she saw him and he nonchalantly raised the corners of his mouth in reply, even though he rather felt like breaking into a wide grin. She’d probably see that as vulgar, though, so he kept himself under control.

The house bot took longer than usual to serve them coffee and it became harder and harder to keep up a bored and indifferent façade. Finally, Auria leaned back and started the conversation which gave him, being the younger of the two, permission to speak, too. “I heard congratulations are in order?”

Cletus lost the rest of his self-control and grinned broadly. “You could say that. I may not have the official title of ‘inspector’ yet, but two days ago I was told I would be appointed an apartment of my own.”

“Which probably won’t be all that spacious. But at least this means you’ll no longer live off my son.”

He didn’t let anything sour his mood. Yes, he’d maybe have a little less space and would have to work for his money instead of getting pocket money from Divius, but at least he’d finally be free. “Change is inevitable on the way to the top.”

She smiled thinly. “Very true. I just hope you won’t tell anyone you have to work for a living.”

“No, no, don’t worry. Everyone knows it’s my calling to keep a sharp eye on the proceedings of the station. I certainly won’t be so foolish to hint at doing that just because of the money.”

Auria laughed. “Well, I believe that. Given how enthusiastic you are about correcting others, everyone will buy you are doing this for fun.” She sipped her coffee and carefully watched him. “And of course for gaining influence.”

Cletus leaned back and returned her gaze. “I’m reporting to Elder Un. Not directly, of course, but it’s his duty to make sure that Elysium’s systems are all working smoothly. And all prime inspectors are directly responsible to him.”

She nodded. “How long will it take until you are appointed as an inspector?”

“I’m only nineteen and just finished school,” he replied defensively. But when Auria kept staring at him, he smiled slyly. “The regular job training time is two years. But I’m sure I can finish it faster than that. Just looking at what morons are training with me it’s no wonder the time is so long. But for someone of my intelligence, it surely won’t take as long.”

“You should be careful whom you call names like that. Even if you’re right-“

“I know, I know,” he tried placating her. He didn’t feel like listening to that particular speech again. “I always have to make sure that whoever I’m talking to isn’t of higher status than me before speaking my mind. Only when I’m dealing with someone who is ranking below me I don’t have to make an effort to be polite.”

Auria nodded, satisfied that he seemed to have memorized this lesson.

Cletus sighed. “But I thought this was just between you and me. And that I can openly say what I think when it’s the two of us.”

She pursed her lips. “No, you always have to be on guard. No matter who you’re talking to, never feel too safe, Cletus.”

He could hardly keep from rolling his eyes. Auria’s fear he might anger someone of higher status was bordering on paranoia. As if he had the urge to insult anyone. Stupid cow!

“When we’ll meet again, I’d like a list of all the inspectors in training,” Auria continued, oblivious to his thoughts. “Then I’ll tell you which families they are from and how you should treat them.”

“Of course.” Well, great. As if he hadn’t learned enough family trees by heart. And that using family names had gone out of fashion didn’t make it any easier to know who belonged to which family. But no matter. He’d manage.

“Besides,” Auria said, “you should know on which side they are, in case the conflict between the Council of Elders and the Prime Controller escalates.”

Cletus leaned forward. “You mentioned that before, but so far I didn’t get the impression that they are on bad terms.”

“They keep up appearances, that’s true, but…” Auria sighed. “Where do I start? There has been deep mistrust between the factions for a long time now. Prime Controller Ulysses has de facto control over the planet. Anything the elders want to know about the situation down there, they can only learn from him. More than that, he also has a massive army on Deponia, whose numbers surpass that of Elysians by far. The elders are aware of their predicament, of course, and try to keep Ulysses happy without losing too much of their power to him.”

“Maybe the Prime Controller isn’t interested in the civil governance of Elysium.”

Auria smiled thinly. “Well, that’s the thing about power. Once you get a taste of it, it’s hard not to want more. But so far you’re right. Whenever there has been dissent between the Council of Elders and Ulysses, it was about the planet and not about Elysium. Especially because there are these rumors that won’t die down.”

“Rumors?”

“According to the Prime Controller, all human beings have died off on the planet for two years. But over time you can still see changes on the surface and there are lights at night. Ulysses insists that those are from his Organon, but there are some who doubt that.”

Cletus scratched his head. “Doesn’t the Organon consist of human beings?”

Auria raised an eyebrow. “Biologically, perhaps. But in their whole being and kind these clones are very distant from what makes us human.”

He shrugged. “Well, no matter. But does it even make a difference whether or not someone is still alive down there?”

“Of course it does. The Council of Elders would probably postpone project Utopia until there were no Deponians on the planet anymore. They can hardly blow up Deponia while it is still inhabited.”

Cletus frowned. “They left the Deponians to die anyway. What difference would it make?”

“That is basically true. But I doubt the Council of Elders will see it that way. Especially elder Quatre is very idealistic and, being the youngest member of the council, wasn’t actively involved in the decision to build Elysium and leave Deponia. Un, on the other hand, is more practical. He might stick to the plan of blowing up the planet, but in case the others decide otherwise he’ll probably join them.”

An uninvited memory of Lucia entered Cletus’ thoughts. She had told him that she personally knew elder Deux and liked him, but he had never bothered to ask about the elder’s policies. “I heard that Deux is rather kind and warm-hearted. He’d probably go soft, too, if it turned out that the planet is still inhabited.”

“Possible. On the other hand, he also supervises all the cloning facilities and never minded that the Organon would die doing their duty.”

Cletus fidgeted in his chair, but he preferred not to think too much about cloning facilities. “That leaves elder Trois. I know he’s the eldest of the four. But I haven’t dealt with him personally. What do you think how he would decide?”

“You know his speeches and you probably witnessed him in the Chill-Out-Zone when he pretends to be a man of the people.”

Cletus hesitated a moment, then he risked a smile. “He’s a talker without any original ideas who hides behind others. How he acts always depends on public opinion. If the Elysians were pro blowing up the planet, no matter how it things were down there, so would he. If not, he’d vote against it, too.”

Auria leaned back and gave him a satisfied nod. “You’re making progress. I think, by now we can risk taking you to a public event. In two months Prime Controller Ulysses is holding a reception and I want you to accompany me.” She made a face when Cletus jumped to his feet in excitement and almost spilled his coffee on the expensive furniture. “At least if you learn not to be an embarrassment until then.”

 

****

 

It was surprising how slowly time passed as he spent the next weeks waiting for the big event, only to speed up again when there were only a few hours left to properly dress up.

But Cletus was rather confident that the result was worth it. He was cleanly shaved and perfectly coiffed, wore a new sleeveless suit, white and tight-fitting, along with gloves and knee-high boots that were terribly uncomfortable.

Thus he fitted right in with the crowd gathered in a hall in the Chill-Out-Zone. He was impressed to see that so many members of the upper class had answered the Prime Controller’s invitation. As far as Cletus knew they were celebrating the twentieth or maybe thirtieth bomb tower on Deponia. He hadn’t paid close attention when Auria explained it to him.

At first said Auria had kept him in her sight and from time to time whispered to him who some guest was and what he should pay attention to. But then she had started a conversation with some other elderly ladies and when they wanted to show her something, she had left Cletus standing alone in the crowd.

Not that he minded. Actually, he preferred not being under Auria’s thumb all the time. But he was a bit unsure whether to seek out someone for a bit of Smalltalk or if he should rather stand to the side and watch the other guests as he had done with Auria.

That’s when he spotted the buffet and decided to first have a closer look at that.

On a long tastefully decorated table he could see everything from appetizers, to fish and meat dishes and desserts next to stuff he didn’t even know. He grabbed a plate and paced the length of the table, incapable of deciding with what he should start.

“I’d try the salmon crème with lemon dust,” came a female voice from behind him. “But the asparagus bites can be recommended, too. Afterwards, you just have to try the champagne truffles, those are excellent.”

Cletus whirled about and could hardly keep his jaw from dropping. In front of him stood a young woman in a delicate blue dress that made her eyes stand out even more. On her left temple, there was a silverfish gleam of a metallic slot, but that did nothing to distract from her pretty face. She was slender and about a head taller than him, but her movements were by no means ungraceful when she cocked her head, crowned by an elaborate reddish golden hair-do, and smiled at him.

“I’ve seen you before, in school,” she continued without missing a beat. “My best friend Tallis always calls you ‘Shorty’.” She laughed. “I’m glad to see a new face here.”

Shorty? He was tempted to tell her, what he thought of a beanstalk like her, but on the other hand, her smile was really lovely and Auria had drilled him enough to make him pause and consider which family he might get in trouble with. Because now he recognized her as Goal, the only daughter of Prime Controller Ulysses.

“Uh, yes, of course,” he stammered and laughed nervously. “Not that it was my first reception. I’m at a lot of receptions. Other receptions, I mean…” He trailed off, horror-stricken at his blunder. So much for a good first impression.

But Goal simply laughed. “Of course,” she said graciously.

“Goal!” A young man with short, blond hair jogged up to them, yet he ignored Cletus completely. He was even taller than Goal and had a rather pointy nose alongside which he could easily look down on others. “There you are. I told you to stay close to me!”

She rolled her eyes. “You were talking about golf for half an hour and I tried to signal you that I wanted to go and have a snack.”

He folded his bare, muscled arms and looked as if he was thinking hard how he’d best tell her that she was wrong. But then he looked at Cletus a bit more intently and his expression lit up a bit. “Oh, I get it, you wanted to order drinks for us, didn’t you? For a second I was thinking you were flirting.” He laughed as if he had said something incredibly absurd and then continued in the direction of a more and more perplexed Cletus: “Well, bring me some Champagne, too. And make it snappy.”

Cletus felt his insides grow cold. Goal was quicker than him to snap out of it and tried telling the young man he was making a mistake. “Hawk, this isn’t-“

“Don’t just stand there looking stupid and get moving!” Hawk interrupted her. “Are all the clones becoming gradually more stupid or are you an especially faulty production? The only part that seems to be working is your dense expression.”

Cletus felt his cheeks grow hot. He searched for an appropriate reply, but in his mind, he heard Auria cautioning him and besides he couldn’t remember for the life of him to which family this guy belonged. He clenched his fist in helpless anger, but he didn’t manage a word.

“Hawk, stop it!” Goal had grabbed the buffoon’s shoulder and shoved him back. Hawk paused in confusion and looked down at his girlfriend, who was glaring at him, her hands on her hips. “That’s no service clone!”

“What-“ Hawk started, but this time Goal was in no mood to let him finish the question.

“He’s a guest. Just look how he’s dressed. Is that what service clones look like? Besides, you should know him from school. He was only two or three years your junior, I think. So stop throwing a tantrum like that, Hawk, you’re embarrassing.”

“What was that? I’m embarrassing? You were the one to run off to chat with this midget. Listen, honey, my family owns pretty much the entire Three Quarters. You owe me more respect than this!”

Was this guy really bragging with owning lands down on the trash planet? Cletus couldn’t bear listening to this nonsense anymore. “As far as I heard the value of the property on Deponia is sadly not what it used to be,” he said dryly and was happy to see Hawk grow pale with anger.

Goal chuckled which got her another dirty look. But she didn’t seem to mind. “Well, you are free to go and complain to my father about my lack of respect. If you want I’ll help you find him. I lost my appetite anyway.” With that, she whirled about and crossed the dance floor to the other side of the hall.

Hawk’s gaze alternated between her and Cletus as if he was contemplating whether he had enough time to beat him up before following Goal. In the end, he decided against it because he only hissed at Cletus: “If you ever make a move on my girlfriend again, I’ll make sure you’ll be first in line when they put another batch of clones out of commission.” Then he hurried after Goal and left Cletus standing there with nothing but an empty plate in his hand.

 

****

 

It had gotten cold. The sun had disappeared behind Deponia a while ago and even though muted lamplight illuminated the park behind the hall, it did little to provide a little warmth.

Cletus had found himself a quiet spot on a park bench and, in an unusual bout of rebellion had placed one foot on the seat, so he could rest his chin on his knee. Somehow things hadn’t been as he had pictured them.

Auria being too busy to take care of how he was to get home, was no surprise, but he had also spotted Hawk with some of his mates in front of the hall and that was a problem. Luckily, a lot of the reception guests were still milling about, so Cletus could easily sneak back into the hall and out through a rear exit into the parks behind. Here he was in the company of mostly couples enjoying the romantic atmosphere, but after searching for a while he had found an unoccupied bench where he could rest a bit and plan his next moves.

Not that he was afraid of Hawk. But it sure wouldn’t look good, if he ended his first reception with beating up the boyfriend of the host’s daughter in front of the hall.

Would Auria ever take him to such an event again? For a moment he wondered if he even wanted that and hated himself for thinking that. Of course, he wanted this. He wanted to fit in, more than anything else. And he’d do anything necessary to make it.

“Hi, Shorty.”

He flinched and jumped to his feet, but then he recognized Goal and tried to conceal his reaction by adding another exuberant gesture to invite her to sit.

She smiled and as she sat down he saw once again the narrow control panel of her brain implant shimmer on her temple. He thought back to the things Arron had said about her. That she had lost her mother when she was born and almost didn’t survive herself if her father hadn’t installed this implant. He didn’t know what he had expected, but she seemed so normal in spite of the electronics inside her head. Not very polite most of the time, though.

“My name is Cletus, by the way.”

“What’s wrong with ‘Shorty’?” She laughed and raised her hands in a pacifying gesture when she saw his face. “All right. I’ll keep it in mind.” She turned serious again. “I’m sorry about what happened with Hawk. He’s a real moron. I thought I had finally found someone who wasn’t in awe of my father, but the downside is that he shows nobody else any respect either.”

Cletus shrugged. “He’s not the first idiot I ever met.”

“But it was your first reception and it’s a shame that things went like that.”

He considered insisting again that he had been to a lot of receptions before, but given that a discussion of that could end up rather embarrassing, he simply grinned. “At least the food was excellent. The champagne truffles are something I really have to keep in mind. They were even better than I expected.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Listen, I’ll turn 18 in three months and my father is throwing a party. If you want, I’d be happy if you can come. The food will be great again, I’ll take care of that. I know exactly where to get the best champagne truffles.”

Cletus stared at her slack-jawed. “Really? I mean, sure, I’d definitely come. But, uhm, your boyfriend, uhm…”

Goal made a throwaway gesture. “I broke up with him.”

“You did-? Because… because of me?”

She sighed wistfully. “Not just because of you. Actually, mainly for other reasons. We had a lot of fights lately and worst of all my father was starting to like him. In retrospect, that was a really bad sign.”

“Oh.” He didn’t know what to say. “Well, then I’ll come to your party of course.”

“Great”, she said and smiled again. “By the way, I gave the safety bots a hint to keep an eye on Hawk. A few minutes ago they asked him to stop lurking about and he left in a huff.”

“Thank you. I could have dealt with him on my own, but I didn’t want things to get ugly.”

“Of course. Then we’ll see each other again soon, won’t we, Cletus?”

He grinned and bid her farewell with a deep bow. Then he dropped back on the bench, too exhilarated to go home to his empty apartment.

The Prime Controller’s daughter had invited him. Had talked to him and shown an obvious interest in him. Now, nothing could ever stop his rise to Elysium’s top.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Cletus at work and find out what inspectors actually do. Then it's off for party time. Yay!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for a bit of violence, but nothing too gory.

# Chapter 6

 

“Today all of you novices are to come along to do fieldwork. But in order to decide who may go on the inspection mission to the big open-air swimming pool in the Fun Zone, I came up with a little question: Who can tell me how big Elysium is?”

Cletus suppressed a groan and stared at Elgon. He could hardly believe it possible but this man surpassed anyone else in being both boring and a know-it-all.

Looking around at his fellow apprentices he figured, they shared his lack of enthusiasm about being quizzed. Verlet had not even raised his head and seemed busy with some technological gadget; Milo looked as if he regretted having shown up today after being absent for weeks. Only Mrs. Kinkel had paid any attention to the question although she seemed a bit unsure. On the other hand, you could never be sure of what Mrs. Kinkel was really thinking.

Well, then it would be up to him to gain a few extra points. “Are you asking how many persons live on Elysium or about the station’s outer measurements?” he asked just to make sure.

For a moment Elgon looked a bit perplex, but then he smiled complacently. “Maybe you can tell me both.”

He wasn’t sure why an inspector had to know these things, but nevermind. “About 6000 people are housed on Elysium and the diameter of the widest level, the Fun-Zone, is roughly 1,200 meters-” he began.

“To be exact, it’s 1,233 meters.” Mrs. Kinkel interrupted him. “The height from the chamber of the Council of Elders to the airlocks at the lower end is 4,185 meters and the diameter of the habitat level measures 980 meters. With a population of 5,892 persons, this makes 128.02 square meters per person.”

Cletus couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping. He tried to calculate the figures as fast as possible but he was pretty sure she was correct anyway. It was so unfair. How was he to keep up with someone who had a brain implant and didn’t have to struggle with remembering all this knowledge but could simply add it to their memory banks?

He glared at her but she didn’t pay him any attention and kept her eyes on Elgon who smiled happily.

“We obviously have a winner here. Well then, Mrs. Kinkel, gather your stuff and meet me at the elevators in twenty minutes. Cletus, you’ll accompany Inspector Jennick to the computer core. Uhm, the others may go with you or with us as well.” With that Elgon left the inspectors-to-be with Jennick, a thin woman with pale blond hair.

Mrs. Kinkel still wasn’t showing any signs of triumph and that upset Cletus even more. Instead of gathering any of her things she simply settled more comfortably into her chair, pulled out a book and started browsing through the pages. Cletus didn’t get it. Pretty much the only thing he was sure about when it came to her, was that she did this job for the money, similar to him. But contrary to him she made no effort in hiding that. She showed no particular interest in anything, no ambition, simply her urge to correct others fit with her profession.

She had no influential friends and hardly family to speak of. What was even weirder, nobody knew her first name even though using family names had gone out of fashion quite a while ago. Everything about her was rather unremarkable: from her average shape to her mousy brown hair. Only the brain implant that glinted silverish at her temple made her stand out from the masses a bit.

Maybe she got into debts when she got herself the accursed little gadget? No matter. In any case, it was really unfair how she had obtained this advantage with her artificial memory.

“That stuff about the space per person was terrible un-exact nonsense,” he snapped at her. “All the supply lines and service tubes are located along the vertical axis. You hardly include that when you calculate the living area per person.”

Mrs. Kinkel stared at him and blinked slowly. “That’s right,” she said thoughtfully, then she returned her attention to her book.

Cletus snorted, then he noticed Verlet grinning at him. “What’s so funny?”

“Man, it’s so fascinating how serious you take everything. Good thing you’re the one going to the computer core where the important work will be waiting for you. You probably wouldn’t know what to do in a swimming pool anyway.”

Cletus folded his arms, but he also heard Auria’s warnings in the back of his mind not to voice his irritations. Verlet came from a respected family and was only here because he was amused at seeing others struggle. Same for Milo. “Well, it’s not as if I didn’t know how to have fun,” he said defensively, although he was less aggressive than his first impulse had told him. “Otherwise Goal, the Prime Controller’s daughter herself would have never invited me to her party.”

Now Milo looked up, too. “How often are you going to mention that? We heard you the first fifteen times you told us.”

Milo really had counted how often he had spoken of the party. In spite of himself, Cletus was impressed. “Well, no matter. But it’s simply a fact that I’m quite popular with-“

“Wasn’t it your own birthday yesterday?” Mrs. Kinkel interrupted him as if she had remembered that particular tidbit just now. Come to think of it, maybe she really had downloaded all the personal files so she could throw in that sort of information whenever it was most bothersome.

“Yes. Maybe. I think so,” he replied haltingly. To be honest he had completely forgotten about his birthday. Back in Divius’ apartment, it had never been a special occasion because Divius had argued that they couldn’t be sure the date in his papers was his real birth date. And now that he lived alone he simply wasn’t used to paying attention to it. After all, it wasn’t that much of a big deal that he turned twenty. No need to make such a fuss about it.

“Why didn’t you invite any of us?” Verlet asked briskly.

Cletus pouted but did his best to look in control. “That much should be clear to anyone.”

It obviously wasn’t clear to Verlet, but thankfully he only rolled his eyes and didn’t press the point any further. “Well then, have fun in the computer core. I’ll join Mrs. Kinkel and have a look at that swimming pool. Are you coming, too, Milo?”

“No, I’m going back home. This was enough work for today.” Milo yawned.

“As you wish,” Inspector Jennick said, who had listened to their conversation without any reaction so far. “Come along, Cletus. Let’s see how well Ronny’s service tubes are in shape.”

 

* * *

 

“RRONNNYYY!”

Cletus was about to groan and roll his eyes when he noticed Inspector Jennick smiling politely at the personification of Elysium’s Artificial Intelligence. “Greetings, Ronny,” she said almost cheerfully. “Ready for a check-up of your service tubes?”

The avatar chuckled. “But of course, Madam Inspector! As always, it’s a pleasure working with you.”

Cletus looked from one to the other in confusion. Could there really be someone who wasn’t annoyed by Ronny’s overly exuberant behavior?

Jennick noticed his expression but remained silent as she used a rod to push aside a bolt on one of the roof panels, thus opening a hatch with a pull-down ladder. With an inviting gesture, she told Cletus to go ahead and followed him when he climbed up into the service tube.

It was pretty cramped in here and far less shiny compared to the rest of Elysium, but the tube still looked rather well-kempt. There were rungs fitted to one of the walls, so you could climb to a platform above, but Cletus couldn’t see far beyond that. Nevertheless, he knew that the main cables extended alongside the vertical axis, allowing Ronny access to all areas of Elysium. Basically, the tube was like a human being’s spine, protecting the nerve cords and transporting signals from the brain to all body parts.

He climbed a bit higher to make room for Jennick, who swung upwards through the opening and managed to lean to the wall without covering any of the LEDs that lit the tube. Cletus hooked his right arm into one of the rungs and pulled forth his multitool, a measuring gadget that included a scanner among a number of other things, with his left hand. But while he was still contemplating how to switch it on, the little bugger slipped from his grip.

Jennick who had kept her eyes on him the whole time reached out immediately and caught it.

“This dirty-“ Cletus started cursing, but Jennick didn’t let him finish.

“Now hold it right there!”

Cletus blinked. “What?”

Jennick sighed. “Cletus, you are among the best aspirants for becoming an inspector in quite a while. But you are so stubborn about it all that you only make things harder for yourself. You want to do everything immediately and better than anyone else instead of waiting to give me the chance to help. You never ask for advice but are determined to do it all by yourself. Why?”

“Why?” he repeated and couldn’t keep from sounding annoyed. “What do you want to hear? Do you want the story of my life?”

“Heavens, no! That was only a rhetorical question. I just wanted you to take a step back and think about what you want to achieve. And if the way you go about getting there really is the best way. I’ve seen how angry you get at your colleagues. How you view Ronny as more of an obstacle than a partner. And I don’t think you’ll ever reach your goals like this.”

“But the others-“

“The others will never go about their work the way you do,” Jennick interrupted him again. “The sooner you make your peace with that, the better. I have seen many inspectors like Milo or Verlet. They are in it for the title but not for the actual job. And why shouldn’t they be? Elysium is big enough for a few inspectors who aren’t much of a help, but who don’t get in the way either. Deal with it, because you won’t change the system.”

“And what if these two are scheduled to inspect something and in their laziness simply rubber-stamp it, although repairs were badly needed?” Like the railings on one level, that gave way once someone leaned against it. Especially if that someone was a person who meant something to him. The thought made anger rise in his mind.

Jennick sighed. “Then you have to hope that one of us gets scheduled for that spot’s next inspection before something can happen. I know that isn’t the best way, but if you think it’s any help to confront the upper class about it, you’ll only ruin your own career.”

“I thought on Elysium we were all members of the upper class,” he retorted bitterly.

She sighed again, sounding more impatient this time. “I only wanted to give you some good advice. Even though you’re doing your utmost to make yourself unlikeable, I’d still prefer to have a disagreeable but capable colleague than one whose inability to adapt to the system kept him from being any help at all.”

He pouted and looked down at Jennick which was much easier than usual as he was perched above her on the ladder. “I don’t need your-“

“If you put your right foot on that protrusion over there you’ll have much better footing. The multi-tool has a clip, so you can attach it to your belt. Then you can switch it on with one hand.”

“…advice,” he finished lamely. Somewhat reluctant he relocated his foot and had to admit in spite of himself that she knew what she was talking about. So he held his tongue as she handed the multi-tool back to him and followed her instructions to check whether the cable coating was intact and if the voltage and current rating were within the specified parameters. Then he climbed up and down several levels to review the state of the tube and its lighting.

Jennick showed him how to enter his results on a report sheet and finally asked whether he had any more questions or if everything had been to his satisfaction.

Cletus folded his arms. “Is that a test? You know as well as me that the service tube doesn’t conform to the regulations. According to the tech manual, the teed line and the back-up mustn’t be located in the same tube. But they are not even properly separated from each other. If there ever happens an accident in the tube both lines are gone. Thus making a back-up completely obsolete.”

Jennick pressed her lips together until they were white. “You’re right about that,” she replied slowly. “I remember well when I reported this deficit for the first time. I was told that two tubes would have taken too much space during the construction of Elysium and by now an alteration would be impractical. I thought that was absurd, turned to my superiors for help. I even went to the elders. After that, I got no inspection jobs anymore for a while. In the end Inspector Elgon who had trained with me and had finished with far worse marks than I was promoted to my superior.”

“But…” he began, searched for the right words and finally gave up. “And what will you do about it?”

She snorted. “Nothing. I no longer mention it in my reports. And why should I?” She shouldered her bag with her papers and tools. “Have a nice evening, Cletus.”

He looked after her for a while, before turning to leave himself. She was taking the easy way out, he thought. He’d never be this negligent even if that made things harder. But the elders could rely on him no matter what.

 

* * *

 

The weeks had passed as if by flight. Like the flight of one of the vampire platypuses that still existed on Deponia. If said platypus had nibbled on some garlic and taken flight with its last bit of strength only to be brought down by its disgusted fellows.

So, to sum up, the last weeks had been dismal. So dismal that he could only come up with overcomplicated metaphors.

But whatever, the time had finally passed, and today was the day of Goal’s big party.

This was going to be the best day of his life, he was sure of that. If the Prime Controller’s daughter herself fancied him, what could possibly get in his way?

Cletus grinned self-confidently. It had taken hours to dandify himself. His hairdo was on point and in his tight pants, his posterior looked especially good.

He sauntered to the hall’s entry where he could hear loud music and laughter sweep outside. When he spotted the bouncer, a refitted security bot, he placed the present for Goal under one arm and tried to appear extra nonchalant as he gave his name.

“What was that? Cletus? I’m sorry, Sir, but your name does not appear on my list.”

Cletus’ grin faded and although he tried concealing it behind a forced laugh he couldn’t get rid of the cold feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. “There has to be a mistake. I was invited by Miss Goal herself. In all probability your database is faulty.” An idea formed in his mind and after hastily looking around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear him he leaned forward and whispered: “Maybe you can find me under the name ‘Shorty’?”

“Sir, I have to ask you to leave. Your name is not on the guest list but as another check of my database has revealed you are listed as one of the undesirable persons I was explicitly instructed to turn away.”

Cletus felt all blood withdraw from his head, leaving him white as a sheet. Why? What did he do wrong? This simply couldn’t be!

“Are you done already?”

He knew that voice from somewhere, but he couldn’t figure out where he had heard it before. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed the urge to turn around and find out.

Hawk stared at him and both men’s eyes widened. Cletus made a hasty step backward but Hawk was faster and caught him by the collar. Behind Goal’s ex-boyfriend stood two other young men who looked on in surprise but made no move to come to his help.

Cletus’ thoughts raced. He had been so sure Goal had broken off all contact with Hawk and that he wouldn’t show up here. He needed a plan B and fast. Maybe Hawk had simply passed by. After all, he could hardly be invited.

“Call security!” he cried in the direction of the bouncer, but Hawk didn’t let go as he had expected, but grinned confidently.

“That won’t be necessary,” Hawk told the bot. “I will take care that this tramp won’t bother you any longer.”

“Ah, Mr. Hawk. Welcome, Sir, and thank you, but you really don’t need to concern yourself with this. I’ll send for some security bots and you can go and enjoy yourself at the party.”

Hawk smiled broadly. “No, no, I insist. I’ll get rid of this nuisance and be back in a minute.”

The bouncer’s metallic face managed to look a bit sheepish but to Cletus’ horror, he relented. “Very well. As you say.”

Hawk turned towards Cletus and his smile was just as wide as before. “Let’s take a walk, eh, Mr. Discontinued Model?”

Cletus made a last-ditch attempt at freeing himself from Hawk’s grip, but now the latter’s two buddies joined in and grabbed his arms. Half pushed and half dragged, they carried him to the Fun-Zone’s outer rim.

Cletus knew this spot. Ten years ago he had tried helping Arron get a glimpse of Deponia from here. “No,” gasped. “You can’t do that! I’m an Elysian!”

Hawk shoved him into the wall and hot pain erupted in his back. If his wide collar hadn’t folded up and cushioned the blow, the back of his head would have suffered even more. But even so, he tasted blood. He had probably bitten his tongue.

“An Elysian? You?” Hawk hissed. “That’s got to be a joke. You may be some sort of industrial accident from the cloning chambers, but definitely no true Elysian. Just look at yourself! Do you think dressing up like that would make anyone mistake you for one of us?”

For a moment anger pushed aside all fear. Unfortunately, it also pushed aside intelligence and his instinct of self-preservation. “For one of you? You mean an inbred moron?” He realized what he had just said in the same moment Hawk did. “Wait! I meant-“

Hawk’s fist slammed into his stomach and he doubled over. That obviously wasn’t enough for Hawk’s taste, for he grabbed Cletus by the hair to pull him upright again. Yet a split second later he let go again and with a disgusted expression wiped off an overdose of hair gel on his pants. The two Elysians who were accompanying Hawk came to his aide and pulled Cletus up by his upper arms.

Then Hawk punched him again. And again.

Later on, Cletus couldn’t quite say what happened in the next minutes. Just that he was surprised that neither his jaw nor his ribs broke. He didn’t even lose consciousness what seemed to annoy Hawk the most.

“And? Still in the mood for clever quips?” he screamed at him. “Didn’t you say that the value of property on Deponia has dropped so much? Maybe I’ll send you to check that yourself!”

He started heaving Cletus on the wall, but one of his companions put his hand on Hawk’s arm. “Come on, Hawk. Don’t you think he has enough? I think this should take care of his cheekiness. And if we get caught by a security bot after all, we’ll be in more trouble than he’s worth.”

Hawk answered with a surly grunt, but he let go of Cletus who immediately slumped down and could barely pull himself up to his hands and knees. “I really hope he has learned his lesson. Otherwise, I might have to get a bit rough on him.” Hawk kicked him one last time and caught Cletus in the side, then he turned around and sauntered off with his friends. In the distance, Cletus could hear voices and laughter for a while longer, then there was only silence.

He managed to get to his feet using the wall to support himself, then he hobbled off towards home. So much for the greatest day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the ordeals of the last chapter, Cletus experiences a depressive episode, but with some help, he may be able to recover.

“Cletus? …Cletus!”

He heard a muffled voice call his name, but his head felt as if it was filled with wadding. Indignantly, he made a face and closed his eyes even tighter.

Someone grabbed his shoulders and started to shake him. Cletus moaned and tried to push the hands away, but now the voice called for him again. In the end, he gave up and squinted upwards. The light was harsh and hurt his eyes, but a moment later he recognized his visitor.

“Arron?” Cletus’ voice sounded as hollow as his head felt. “How are you doing… how did you get in here?”

Arron sat down on the edge of his bed. “The house bot opened the door for me. But when he wouldn’t let me in, I had to… uhm… turn him off.”

“You wrecked my house bot?” Cletus sighed in annoyance. “Go away, Arron. Leave me alone.”

“I definitely won’t do that. At least not until you told me what’s wrong with you.” Arron frowned. “I wouldn’t think I’d ever say that, but you smell terrible, Cletus. I hardly dare to ask, but how long has it been since you washed? You look terrible.”

Surly, Cletus turned his head towards the wall. “What does it matter? After all, it makes no difference what I’m doing.”

Arron was very still for a moment, then he said in a low voice: “You’re beginning to scare me. What’s come over you?”

Cletus ignored him and closed his eyes again. Pouring out his heart to Arron was the last thing he wanted to do. But luckily he was an expert at getting rid of him. He simply had to ignore him a little longer, insult him if that wasn’t enough and then he’d surely-

“Hey!” Cletus squeaked as Arron pulled his blanket away, grabbed him by the midriff and hoisted him over his shoulder. How could he?

Alright, so he was more than a head taller than Cletus and the latter wasn’t particularly heavy. But had Arron suddenly lost his sense of smell? What use was letting himself go if it didn’t keep anyone away?

Arron started moving but as Cletus was contemplating where his brother might take him and what he could do against it, Arron already entered the bathroom and set down Cletus more or less gently in the shower. The latter was only wearing a bathrobe, but he clenched it shut all the more now. “Forget it, Arron, I definitely won’t-“

Cletus caught sight of his reflection in the six-foot mirror he had installed to be able to adequately admire his looks. Unfortunately, admiring his looks was currently not an easy thing to do. There were dark bags under his eyes, his cheeks were sunken in and overgrown with a brown beard. He glanced at Arron in confusion, looked back at the mirror and then at Arron again. “I… How long did I…?”

Arron sighed. “You didn’t come to work for over five weeks. Grandma Auria keeps fluctuating between worrying you might have caused trouble, hoping you don’t need to work anymore and getting angry because you don’t contact her. Didn’t you hear of anything?” He made a face. “Have you been drinking, Cletus?”

Yes, he had. At least he thought he did. The last weeks were a blurry smudge in his memory. He had slept most of the time, had eaten what the house bot prepared for him and had struggled to get up from time to time to relieve himself. In between, he vaguely remembered empty bottles next to his bed and terrible headaches, but he could no longer say how much and what he had been drinking.

“Leave me alone, Arron. It’s none of your business what I’m doing. And Auria and her upper-class jerks can get lost, too.”

“Now I’m sure there’s something wrong with you,” Arron replied, shaking his head. “Or that you hit your head.”

Cletus couldn’t keep himself from flinching. He saw Arron lean forward and knew he hadn’t missed it either. What should he do now? He couldn’t tell Arron about Hawk without mentioning his humiliation at the hands of the bouncer. He groaned in annoyance. “Does nobody tell you how obnoxious you are since I moved out? What do I have to do to get rid of you?”

Arron folded his arms. “There’s no way, I’ll just leave you alone in this state. But how about this: you clean up and in the meantime, I’ll prepare a snack. Once you have eaten and look a bit more stable, you can decide whether you want to tell me what happened or not. If you choose not to speak to me, I’ll leave it alone.”

“Alright,” Cletus said. “Well then, get out of the bathroom so I can take a shower.”

The complacent grin on Arron’s face did bother him, but Cletus didn’t want to risk his adoptive brother staying longer than necessary if he challenged him. So he settled on silently looking after him and tentatively stripped out of his bathrobe once he heard the door hiss shut after Arron.

He had expected some remainders of his injuries, but when he looked down at himself he couldn’t see any trace of bruises. Apparently, he had coped with the beating better then he had expected.

Cletus leaned back and turned on the water. He closed his eyes. How could he have gotten by without this for so long? The hot water streaming down his back felt so good. He felt his muscles relax and sighed in contentment.

He reached for the shower gel and lathered his whole body. Then he rinsed and started over again. With every time he saw water and dirt go down the drain, he felt more like himself. But when he checked himself in the mirror his beard made him frown again. Determined he stepped out of the shower and took up his razor.

A while later his cheeks were flawless and smooth again. Only below his nose and on his chin he still had work to do. But as he was meticulously got rid of all hair on his upper lip he came up with an idea. Actually, he rather liked the contrast between his dark hair and light skin. Besides, the little tuff of hair on his chin made his face look longer and a bit older and more mature.

He took great care to get his goatee in shape and regarded the outcome. It looked a bit unfamiliar, but he liked what he saw.

Humming complacently to himself he fetched a clean bathrobe from the cupboard and put it on before returning to the living room where he looked for Arron.

The house bot was still standing mutely next to the door and didn’t even twitch. Cletus hoped he’d get it up and running again soon. But as he heard noise from the kitchen and knew it couldn’t be caused by the house bot, he went to check it out. Just as he came in he watched Arron maneuver a slightly burnt fried egg onto a plate.

“I really hope you have other talents than cooking,” Cletus commented dryly and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.

Arron turned to him and grinned. “Yeah. For example, I can get the laziest patients moving again.”

“Patients?”

Arron’s grin grew even wider. He reached for another chair and sat down opposite of him. “Yep, a few more years and you may call me ‘Doctor Arron’”

Cletus raised his eyebrows. He had spent so little time with Arron in recent years that he hardly felt like he knew him. “You want to become a doctor? And your father doesn’t mind?”

Arron sighed, but his enthusiasm seemed no less than before. “He says that this is not where the big money waits, but all in all he’s okay with my choice. I’m to specialize in a specific field that’s profitable enough, but that’s what I planned anyway.”

Even though he really wasn’t inclined to envy anyone, it simply wasn’t fair that Arron got everything Cletus wanted. He grumbled something under his breath, but Arron didn’t pay him any mind.

“I met an old friend of yours when I started studying,” Arron continued. “Lucia. You were together a few years back, weren’t you? Well, she is researching genetics of extinct species. Wants to bring them back or something. I focus more on human beings, but also on tech. I’m especially interested in brain science. I think of becoming a neurosurgeon and-“

“You want what?!” Cletus snorted. “First you waste all your time in the Fun Zone and now you think you can mess with people’s consciousnesses?”

Arron shook his head. “Cletus, I was fourteen. By now, I have been studying for a while-“

“Bah!” Cletus interrupted him again. “You think you can do anything, don’t you? I bet you just want to impress the Prime Controller’s daughter. ‘Look at me, I can insert brain implants. May I check out yours, young lady?’” he mimicked Arron.

“Are you trying to sound like me?” Arron seemed more amused than offended. “In case that’s what worries you: I’m not interested in Goal at all. I’m busy trying to become more independent from my rather controlling father and you can bet on it that I don’t want to get closer to the family of the Prime Controller.”

“Of course I’m not worried about that,” Cletus retorted out of principle, even though he felt somewhat pacified. “You wouldn’t stand a chance with her anyway. That woman is totally indecisive. Flirting with you one second and dumping you the next.”

That made Arron take notice. “Say, Cletus does it have anything to do with Goal that you were… I mean, I think it was about five weeks ago, too, when there was so much trouble at her party. Did you-“

“Trouble?” Cletus interrupted him. Had Arron maybe heard of his unfortunate run-in with Hawk after all?

Arron shrugged. “I wasn’t there myself, but for a while, it was the talk of the town. Goal is said to have made her former boyfriend a scene. I even heard she got violent and that she screamed at both her father and at this guy in front of all the guests. And you really didn’t hear about any of that?”

Cletus stared at him slack-jawed. “She… she did…” He trailed off and looked down at his hands. He simply couldn’t make sense of it.

“Listen, Cletus, maybe talking about all of this would do you good,” Arron tried again, but Cletus shook his head. “Okay, be stubborn. But at least promise me you won’t hole up anymore.” He smirked. “Don’t break grandma Auria’s heart.”

This time Cletus returned the grin. “She really sent you then?”

“Not explicitly. But after a while, I got fed up with her ranting about you and her disappointed expectations. Besides… it somehow bothered me that I didn’t know what was up with you. I just… There was a time when we got along so much better and now you almost a stranger to me.”

Cletus refused to admit that the same thought had crossed his mind. He sighed. “Well, then tell Auria I had an accident. But I’m better now and will go to work again tomorrow.” He frowned. “And I have to take care of Poisonous again.”

“Poisonous?” Arron echoed. “Your strange pet? Your house bot must have fed it, but when I wanted to give it some food, it tried to bite me and to hit me with its tongue.”

“He’s behaving totally normal then.”

Arron snorted. “He fits you. You’re both ill-humored grouches.” With that, he got up and raised his fingertips to his head in a mockery of a salute. “But Lucia thinks maybe you aren’t a lost cause after all.”

Cletus got to his feet and folded his arms. “You two talked about me?”

“I’ll never understand why you broke up with her.”

“ _I_ broke up with _her_? Actually, it was the other way round.”

Arron stopped short. “I never asked her about it. But didn’t you tell dad, you…” He trailed off and smiled knowingly. “Nevermind. Dad doesn’t need to know everything, does he? In any case, it was nice talking to you again. It felt almost like back then when we were… you know.”

Yes, he knew. And now that fear of what Divius might do to him was no longer controlling him, he was no longer sure how to treat Arron. He was an annoying idiot of course, but without him, he’d probably still…

“I really should be going,” Arron’s voice intruded into his thoughts.

Cletus took a deep breath. “Yes, of course. But before you go, there’s something I need to tell you, Arron.” He leaned forward and placed his hand on his adoptive brother’s arm. “If you ever break my house bot again, you’ll be very sorry.”

 

* * *

 

Cletus rearranged his hair and checked himself in the mirror again. His goatee had prospered so well he had to trim it several times so far. His cheeks were likewise no longer sunken in and gaunt. The past few months had treated him well.

He smiled at his reflection. “Hello, handsome.”

“Are you flirting with yourself again?” came Arron’s voice from the hallway. “It’s no surprise you take forever to get ready.”

Cletus glanced at him over his shoulder. “Didn’t I tell you to wait in the living-room?”

“You did. Over an hour ago. But without someone to urge you on, you’ll never get ready in time for our training. Why do you even dandify yourself so much? Once you’ll get moving your hairdo will be messed up again anyway.”

“And you are surprised why I don’t see the benefit of this stupid training.” Cletus rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you were the one who asked me about finding a self-defense course that suits you. Then I do you a favor and take you along to Shai-Hulu lessons and all you do is whine and skip training.”

Cletus didn’t answer. Yes, it had been important to him to be able to defend himself in case he ran into Hawk again or ended up in a similar situation. But as the months passed without anything bad happening the ratio of effort to benefit from this whole Shai-Hulu thing had turned upside down. Basically, he was okay with knowing the basic stances, how to look threatening and how to impress an opponent by telling which duju you had achieved. And if need be you could spice that up with a lie about your skills.

“And you really want to meet Lucia after training?” he changed the subject. “Sweaty and smelly as you’ll be?”

Arron smiled sheepishly. “I always take a shower once I’m done. Besides, Lucia isn’t the type to make a fuzz about that.” He hesitated a moment. “I was simply… I mean, would you mind if… uhm…” He squirmed, looking for the right words.

Cletus watched him struggle for a bit, then he said graciously: “As you probably can’t be too choosy if you want someone, I won’t stand in your way when it comes to Lucia. Just don’t come to me and complain once she starts badmouthing everything you like.”

Arron snorted. “How generous of you.”

It really was generous, but Cletus didn’t feel like competing with Arron when it came to a woman anyway. All that drama with Goal had shown him clearly enough, that this wasn’t worth the trouble and he had no intention of getting his hopes up just to see them smashed to pieces again.

He had his old life back. Just as it had been before he attended the reception where he ran into the Prime Controller’s daughter. At least, almost. His colleagues had kept making disparaging remarks about his “alleged” invitation to Goal’s party, once he had started going to work again. But by now he had been appointed as an inspector. Only two weeks after Mrs. Kinkel.

While he was scheduled to work as an assistant to Inspector Elgon a bit too frequently for his taste, he still appreciated the chance to make connections. After all, Elgon was due to be promoted to Prime Inspector.

“So, are you ready now?” Arron interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes, almost,” Cletus answered. Actually, he couldn’t think of anything that needed to be done, but he was simply not in the mood for getting dragged to this idiotic course.

Arron rolled his eyes. “You know what, I’m sick of waiting. I’ll go on ahead and once you’re finally done modeling your hair and twirling your beard, you can catch up to me.”

Cletus didn’t even make an effort to look contrite. “Sure,” he replied without even considering showing up.

Arron’s disappointment was so obvious that not even Cletus could miss it, but he decided to simply ignore it. It wasn’t his fault that Arron kept entertaining such unrealistic hopes.

The moment the door closed behind his adoptive brother Cletus settled down on the couch and put his feet up. Maybe he had a few champagne truffles in the fridge to make this a truly enjoyable afternoon before it would be time for dinner.

The doorbell made him jump to his feet again. Had Arron forgotten something? He waved away the house bot and went to answer the door himself. Best that he got rid of Arron quickly before he came in again.

“What is it n-“ he began before finding the rest of his question stuck in his throat. “Goal?!”

She was wearing her red-golden hair openly, only held back by a pale green hairband, similar to his own. Instead of a dress, she was clad in a tight bodysuit and instead of high heels, there was a pair of sturdy boots at her feet which made the height difference between them a bit less pronounced. But besides all that she looked just as uniquely breathtaking as the day he had first met her.

“Don’t you want to ask me in?” she demanded reproachfully.

Before he could he really think about it the instincts for manners that had been drilled into him by Auria took over and he obediently stepped aside. Goal whooshed past him and Cletus closed the door with a befuddled look on his face. He followed her into the living room where he found her pacing in front of the coffee table.

“Tell me, Cletus, how old am I?”

He contemplated for a moment which birthday it had been she had invited him to all those months ago, but when he opened his mouth she was already talking again.

“I’ll turn nineteen in four months and he still treats me like a child!” she cried angrily. “I wanted to start planning early this year, so things don’t end in a disaster like last year. And what do I learn? He messed up my guest list last year. And to top it all, he tells me that he can judge these things better than me. I’m not twelve anymore!”

“Who-?” Cletus tried to ask.

“My father, of course. He deleted your name from the guest list and invited Hawk instead. Can you imagine? Because it’s all about him and what he prefers! He doesn’t take anything I want seriously!” Goal was getting angrier and angrier. “He can’t treat me like that!”

She kept ranting for a while, but Cletus was hardly listening to what she was saying. So she didn’t let him walk into a trap after all. She fancied him, he was sure of that. While there were, unfortunately, some problems with the Prime Controller, he was confident he’d manage to ingratiate himself to Goal’s father.

“So? What do you say?” Goal was just asking gruffly and he realized that he had missed the actual question.

“Yes, of course,” he hurried to say, hoping this was the right answer.

“Fine”, Goal said considerably calmer. “I know this was rather unconventional, but you can issue a proper invitation next time we’ll have a date.”

Date? Did she just say “date”? Cletus jaw dropped open, but Goal unceremoniously linked arms with him and dragged him towards the door. “You may invite me to a cup of soyoccino. I know a café in the circling gardens that has the best soyoccino in all of Elysium.”

Cletus went along without resistance and did his best not to grin stupidly. Good that he had taken pains to look his best today.

 

* * *

 

“And then Inspector Elgon said to me: ‘If only all our inspector were as zealous as you, Cletus, our magnificent home would last forever.’” Cletus paused a moment to give Goal the chance to acknowledge his accomplishments.

But she only raised her eyebrows and asked: “You really like to talk about yourself, don’t you?”

Cletus was confused. What kind of question was that? Of course, he did. “I like talking about interesting topics,” he replied. “Which is one and the same most of the time.”

Goal sighed and Cletus felt a prick of nervousness. What was up with her?

“I simply had expected something a bit more unusual,” Goal said. “At least you have a job and don’t spend all your time in the Fun Zone or the Chill Out Zone. But…” She sighed again.

Frantically, Cletus tried to come up with something that set him apart from the masses. “I have a pet!” he burst out at last.

That got her attention. “Really? Dad doesn’t think much of pets. He thinks they are a waste of resources. But I always wanted one of my own.”

He leaned back and smiled complacently. “It’s really not cheap to pay for what an animal needs every month. But I think it’s worth it.”

“Why don’t you go to the petting zoo if your such an animal lover? That wouldn’t be as expensive.”

Cletus sighed dramatically. “That may be true. But I simply couldn’t bring myself to leave him there. After all, he is rather unconventional and no one but me would ever appreciate him.”

Now she was even more curious. “What is he?”

He raised his hands. “I don’t want to scare you.”

She smirked. “The mere mention won’t make me run in fear.”

Cletus bent forwards and whispered conspiratorially: “He’s a plague-spit monitor and his name is Poisonous.”

To his surprise Goal didn’t react in shock at all but laughed out loud. “Oh, that’s cute. You have to show him to me next time.”

Cute? Did she really call Poisonous cute? But oh well, as long as she was talking about a “next time”, he didn’t mind these lapses of judgment.

“But,” Goal continued, “I’ve had enough for one day. You may accompany me home if you want.”

“If I want?” he repeated without thinking.

“If you’re a Gentleman,” she corrected.

Of course.

Goal lived with her father in the top habitat level where the station’s diameter was just a fraction of the width of the Fun-Zone, the widest of Elysium’s levels. Behind the tastefully elegant buildings rose the central vertical axis, that housed the administration levels and the chamber of the Council of Elders atop of them.

Cletus struggled not to look too impressed but that was easier said than done. What he wouldn’t give to be able to live her one day.

Goal had taken his hand once they left the elevator and led him purposefully to a magnificent mansion nearby. Cletus couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Maybe the Prime Controller had installed cameras out here?

Goal stopped and turned towards him. She smiled almost triumphantly and put a hand on his cheek. “Thanks for taking time for me on such a short notice, Cletus. I had a really nice afternoon.”

Cletus’ heart jerked as she touched him and began to beat wildly as her fingers slid down to his chin and toyed with his goatee. Her eyes glittered as she took hold of his beard and pulled him close to her. He stretched upwards and felt her lips against his own. He closed his eyes and returned the kiss as if he had waited all his life for this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got this far and liked it (or even if you didn't) it would mean the world to me if you left a comment. Thank you!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cletus has an unfortunate run-in with Ulysses and goes camping with Goal. Nature loving and cheery as he is, this is bound to be fun.

“You did what?” Cletus stared at Goal with a slack jaw. He had gotten somewhat used to her spontaneously making weird decisions but this was positively absurd.

“Relax, he’ll look cute in it,” Goal replied happily.

“You bought a jumpsuit for a plague-spit monitor?” Cletus was still aghast.

“And a bathing costume.” Goal was obviously not about to let anything ruin her enthusiasm.

Cletus buried his face in his hands.

In the meantime, his girlfriend unswervingly made her way to Poisonous’ cage and let the monitor out. When she had done that for the first time he had called out warnings to her. But for some reason, Poisonous had never so much as hissed at Goal let alone bit her. Unlike Cletus himself, of course.

One day he’d stuff the blasted critter.

With a sigh, he got up and followed Goal. By now, she had managed to dress Poisonous in the bathing costume and tickled his scaly belly. “There, Precious, you like that, don’t you?” she cooed without looking up.

“His name is Poi-“ Cletus tried to interject, but Goal wouldn’t let him finish.

“Doesn’t this look great? I bet they’ll envy us when we show up with him on the camping site dressed like that.”

“Don’t tell me you want to take him along? Goal, we’ll only be away for one night. He’ll be fine staying with the house bot.”

She was clearly disappointed, but he was sure, she’d get over it. He was much more interested in her implying that she was already planning their camping trip even though he had not yet officially invited her. He had merely mentioned Arron planning to go on the trip with Lucia and that he had asked whether they wanted to come along. Did that mean… “Say, Goal? You sound like you already made up your mind. So, I don’t really need to bring a written invitation to your place, do I?”

Goal looked up at him and frowned. “Are you serious? You know I’d like to uphold a certain standard. Besides, I want my father to get used to the sight of you.”

Cletus suppressed a sigh. On one hand, he valued the opportunity to show up in Goal’s neighborhood and get used to the more refined style of living there. But on the other hand, her house bot seemed to be more uncivil each time he dealt with him, left him waiting in front of the door longer and longer and was very curt when accepting his invitations.

And then there was Ulysses himself. Or rather, then Ulysses wasn’t even there at all. Because for some reason he was extraordinarily unlucky when it came to meeting Goal’s father in person. Even at her party when Goal turned 19 two weeks ago, the Prime Controller had some urgent business down on the planet. Goal had claimed to be happy about that because now nobody was messing with her planning, but for a while, she had been very taciturn and irritable towards Cletus as if this had been all his fault.

Goal paused in her playing with Poisonous to glance at Cletus. “That reminds me: My father will be back from one of his trips to Deponia tomorrow. So if you bring the invitation the day after that, you might run into him.”

He felt his heart beat faster and quickly folded his arms as if to hide it. “Well, alright. As long as that’s not of too short a notice to decide about the weekend.”

Goal grinned. “I’ll talk to him before you get there. He sure won’t say no once you arrive with a proper invitation.”

 

* * *

 

Cletus tried suppressing a sigh but this time he didn’t quite manage to. He was now waiting in front of Goal’s door for more than five minutes and twice some neighbors had passed by markedly close and stared at him.

Maybe he should ring the bell again? He didn’t want to get to a bad start with the Prime Controller, but by now he was no longer sure if he had even pressed the button for the doorbell hard enough. He thought about it for a moment, then he took heart and pushed the elaborate button again. Almost instantly the door opened and he found himself facing a tall, broad-shouldered man who glowered down at him.

“Prime Controller, Sir!” Cletus squeaked in alarm. “I was just about to… I thought the doorbell-“

“You thought it’d be a good idea to disturb me?” Ulysses interrupted him. His icy blue eyes glared at Cletus from under bushy eyebrows, but the light brown mane of curls and Ulysses full beard reminded him more of an angry bear and unsettled him even more. “Who do you think you are?”

“I, uhm… I wanted… I have an invitation for Goal,” Cletus stammered and added: “Your daughter, you know.”

Ulysses’ glare got even more intense.

“But you already know she is your daughter, of course,” Cletus said, attempting to salvage the terrible situation. “We didn’t have the pleasure of getting introduced to each other, though. Your daughter probably told you about me, but…” He desperately searched for the right words, but Ulysses' eyes caused his mind to shrivel and die. “Well, uhm, my name is Cletus,” he managed lamely.

“I know your name all too well,” Ulysses replied in a low, threatening growl. “Don’t think that I didn’t notice your attempts at ingratiating yourself to my daughter. I have been very open with Goal about how little I think of her keeping contact with you, but as she apparently didn’t pass this on to you, let me tell you this explicitly: Keep away from Goal!”

With that Ulysses snatched the envelope with the invitation from Cletus’ hands and tore it in half several times. As Cletus was staring in horror at the pieces floating down, Ulysses whirled around and went back in. The door slid shut behind him and left Cletus to stand lost and slack-jawed outside.

This couldn’t be happening! Goal was supposed to prepare her father for his visit. Was this her idea of a joke? Or did she lure him into a trap to make fun of him?

It would probably be best to disappear before more onlookers appeared and made this whole experience even more humiliating, but he couldn’t break out of the suffocating numbness within.

“You sent him away?” came an upset, female voice from beyond the door. “Dad, what were you thinking?”

Surprised, Cletus leaned closer. That sounded like Goal. But how could he hear through the sound-proof… His eyes found the spot where the sliding doors usually fit together seamlessly and noticed the crunched shreds of his invitation that had kept the door from closing completely.

“Don’t you talk to me like that, young lady!” he heard Ulysses growl back. “This is still my house you’re living in and I won’t stand by and watch you getting tangled up with someone as unsuitable as him.”

“Dad, I’m not a child anymore. I can well decide on my own with whom I want to spend my time. And only because you think Cletus doesn’t have proper class-“

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Ulysses interrupted her. “Or at last only tangentially. Goal, I know him. I know he’s going to hurt you.”

Cletus swallowed and furrowed his brow in confusion. What was the meaning of this?

Goal sounded as non-plussed as he felt. “I have no idea what you are hinting at. You didn’t even talk to him. How do you know he’d ever hurt me?”

“I cannot explain why but I know more about this Cletus fellow than you think. I know that mercy isn’t part of his design. He’s not good for you.”

Cletus felt numb. Mercy wasn’t part of his design? What was that supposed to mean? Was the whole thing a big misunderstanding? Did Ulysses mistake him for someone else? Inside, he heard Goal answer something, but he didn’t quite register her words because his mind wouldn’t stop mulling over Ulysses’ words.

All of a sudden the door opened again and this time Goal came out. “Cletus! You’re still here!” she cried and flung her arms around his neck. “I was worried dad had driven you away.” She laughed. “But no matter how much he growls, he can’t make me do as he says. And you seem to be able to stand your ground, too.” She kissed him on the cheek. “You won’t believe how happy that makes me.”

Cletus managed a strained smile and allowed Goal to drag him away from the door. He didn’t know what caused the Prime Controller to think so low of him, but he wouldn’t give up showing Ulysses that he was misjudging him. He’d never hurt Goal. He’d never take that risk.”

 

* * *

 

Cletus hated camping. He really didn’t get why anyone would exchange their apartment and cozy bed with a tent and an air mattress. Even though the tent he was to share with Goal was actually pretty comfortable and set up itself, he considered that the bare necessities to not be considered barbarians.

Still, the Floating Gardens consisted of far too much nature and far too little civilization for his taste. He was almost sure that he spotted a bug somewhere in the grass and withdrew to the tent opening flap in disgust.

But all of this wouldn’t even be so bad. No, in addition to having to stay in the wilderness, Goal really seemed to get along great with Lucia. He had been hoping for a bit of jealousy, for Goal to fear to lose him and thus to get a little closer to him. Instead, she was sitting on a folding chair right next to Lucia at the electric campfire and chuckled about her anecdotes from school, her studies and relationships. Arron who was sitting opposite of them to Cletus’ left didn’t seem to mind, judging by his laughing a long and even chiming in. Cletus, on the other hand, was sure this was going to be the worst weekend of his life.

A new round of laughter made him look up. Yes, now he was their newest topic. Of course. He tried looking pointedly indifferent but his success was somewhat limited, especially as Goal scooted closer and poked him in the ribs. “You really wore lace underwear?” she asked and sounded far too amused for his taste.

Cletus glared at Lucia. “I really fail to see the problem with that. I look fantastic in them.”

Lucia only laughed. She looked even prettier than he remembered when she was cheerful like that. Oh, bugger. “Oh, Cletus,” she said. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I always thought that was really cute about you.” He was slightly mollified but decided to keep glaring as she continued. “You know, when Arron had the idea about this trip, I was totally fine with it even though we parted on pretty bad terms. But I thought maybe time had treated you well. After all, you apparently found someone nice who fits better with you. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you still spent the evening on your own, grumbling and glaring? Why don’t you join in and tell a funny story about the good old days?”

Cletus pressed his lips together. A funny story? He didn’t know any funny stories. Funny stories were for idiots. “Yes, the good old days,” he said snidely. “When your parents were so good friends with an elder you never had to worry about anything. How did that go, Lucia?”

That wiped the laughter from her face. “Elder Deux is no longer on speaking terms with us. But you probably heard about that yourself, since you brought that up.”

He shrugged. “I heard rumors, but…”

“Rumors. I see. Well, I have to correct myself: You changed far less than I had hoped. But if you really want to know: Elder Deux was visiting us. We talked about Utopia and my parents spoke of their worries it might end up as a second Deponia. Then my mother mentioned it might be a good idea to return to the old democratic system once the crisis was over. The elder never came back to visit again. Three weeks later my father was demoted and the funding for my project to facilitate cataloging gene codes of extinct species was canceled.”

Cletus snorted. “Well, what did your parents expect? Did none of you pay attention in school? Democracy! Hah! Wasn’t it democracy that led to the situation on Deponia deteriorating beyond repair, because they couldn’t agree on anything? If the right person had taken control back then, the worst might have been avoidable.”

Lucia seemed to have trouble remaining in her seat. “Pah! Of course, that’s what they tell us in school, but-“

Arron cleared his throat loudly and put a calming hand on Lucia’s arm. “Maybe this isn’t the right place for this discussion.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, you’re right. I know all too well that saying what you think can have dire consequences.”

Goal looked from one to the other nervously and appeared to no longer enjoy herself at all. Cletus couldn’t say he minded that. Why should he be the only one who felt bad during this trip? It didn’t even do anything to improve his relationship towards Ulysses, as Goal had confessed she told her father she’d go camping with friends and not that Cletus would be along with them. Was it a wonder then, that his mood was this sour?

Arron gave him a dirty look, though, as if it were Cletus’ fault that the merry atmosphere was gone. Then he tried changing the subject. “How about listening to a bit of music?”

Goal flinched as if caught red-handed. “Oh no, I totally forgot. I was supposed to bring a music player. It’s just that there was so much trouble with my dad last week and I had my mind on other things.”

Cletus raised an eyebrow. “You had your mind on other things? You have a brain implant for crying out loud. How can you even forget stuff like that?”

She made a face. “You were there and saw what mood dad was in. I can’t simply take all the expensive equipment out here without saying anything. And do you think after all that bother I was eager to tell my dad what I wanted to take with me?”

“So, you didn’t ‘forget’, you just didn’t feel like having another argument with your dad,” he concluded smugly.

Goal’s frown deepened. “You are really desperate to further ruin the mood, aren’t you, Cletus?”

Okay, he may have gone a bit too far, now. When even Goal was mad at him, it didn’t exactly further his interest. But he simply couldn’t make himself pretend that he was enjoying this camping trip.

Arron made another attempt at lightening the mood. “Does anyone maybe feel like singing?” He made a defensive gesture when he saw Cletus’ face. “Before you start tearing me apart, I just want to remind you that I know you’re singing under the shower, Cletus. And not only there.”

“That’s different.”

“How about the park attendants?” Goal joined in. “Maybe there’s a way to reprogram them?”

“Singing park attendants?” Lucia chuckled. “That would be amazing.”

Cletus was hardly surprised his ex immediately agreed to that rather riotous plan. So, damaging public property was “amazing”. Of course. But to keep Goal from getting even angrier he was going to try and keep from making all too disparaging remarks. “How do you propose that’s going to work? The park attendants may have a slot for cartridges, but even if you’d insert a music cartridges there’d be no software to play it.”

Lucia tilted her head and looked at him thoughtfully. “You were always pretty good at programming. Maybe you can write code that makes them play music?”

He folded his arms. “Yes, maybe. But with what am I supposed to do that? And where should I save the data?”

Arron piped up. “Didn’t you bring your inspector’s tools with you? I think I saw you survey the tents earlier.”

Shoot, he had actually noticed. “Yes, alright. I brought my multi-tool and can use it to write code. But I really don’t have a cartridge.”

“Aww, man.” Goal pouted. “Just as it was getting interesting.”

Lucia snapped her fingers as if she had a sudden idea. “Hey, Goal, what about your brain implant? That’s a cartridge, isn’t it? Couldn’t he write the code on that, transfer it to a park attendant and delete it afterward? Then you get it back and we can listen to what he came up with.”

Goal stiffened so visibly not even Cletus could overlook it. He didn’t know whether to feel hurt at her being so upset at the thought of him getting his hands on her implant or whether he’d rather be relieved he was likely going to be spared doing this.

Lucia didn’t miss Goal’s reaction either. “Listen, I didn’t want to pressure you into anything. It was just an idea. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, simply forget I ever brought it up.”

A bashful smile glid over Goal’s face. “Oh, don’t worry. The idea was perfectly fine. I just wasn’t sure if…” She fell silent and glanced at Cletus who wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

Lucia returned the smile. “Ah, so you’re worried Cletus might mess this up. I totally get that, although I think he’s pretty good with computers. And in any case, Arron and I are there to look over his shoulder.”

“Hey!” Cletus glared at Lucia again. “Of course I can do this!” Did he say that out loud? He didn’t even want to- oh, whatever. “But isn’t taking the implant out of her head dangerous?”

“Not really,” Arron chimed in. “The basic functions of the brain for heartbeat, breathing and keeping up organ functions are not on a cartridge but a separate chip that stays inside the head. Only higher brain functions would be switched off for a while. But that also happens when Goal sleeps and her body would experience the removal of the implant just like sleep, too.”

Cletus couldn’t help but be fascinated. He was itching to get a look at this cartridge. Even though he thought of the whole plan with the park attendant as unnecessary and silly, he’d play along for a chance to see Goal’s brain implant.

So now it was up to Goal. She still looked rather unsure and stared at her folded hands. Cletus bent over and put a hand on her arm. She looked up at him in surprise and he did his best to appear sure of himself. “I can do this,” he repeated. “Do you trust me?”

She stared straight into his eyes for a while but just as he was beginning to feel uncomfortable she finally nodded. He smiled and made an effort not to look too eager as his fingers stroked her cheek upwards to her temple. He found the eject button with ease but was surprised how quickly Goal collapsed into herself when the cartridge had barely left her skull. He almost didn’t manage to catch her before she fell off her chair but with the help of Arron and Lucia, they gently laid her on the ground. She was breathing deeply and evenly as if she had just fallen asleep.

Cletus’ heart beat wildly. He almost dropped the cartridge when he plugged it into his multi-tool. Then there were lines of data showing up in the tool’s screen and his breath hitched. It was so beautiful. More complex than even Ronny’s programming and yet orderly and of logical straightness, Goal’s mind spun forth in front of his eyes. All her memories, all her personality, everything she was, was encoded in these lines and now he held it all in his hands. The possibilities were endless if only he dared to use them.

_I know he’s going to hurt you._

Unbidden Ulysses’ words resurfaced in his mind. Cletus hesitated. Lucia and Arron were still taking care of Goal and paid him no attention. Goal herself would never know if he chose to try and manipulate her memories or feelings. But…

_Mercy is not part of his design._

Oh, darn it! He just couldn’t let Ulysses be right about him. With a small sigh, he tore away from the streams of data, split off a tiny chunk of a memory block and started writing the override code for the park attendants.

“I’m so good,” he started singing under his breath to an improvised melody. “I can do anything. It’s a po-, it’s a pa-, it’s a piece of cake…” He looked up to see Arron and Lucia grin at him. Whatever, they were probably simply jealous. Not everyone could be as musically talented as he was. But at least the park attendants would get their share of his talent.

“Why didn’t you want to sing in the first place?” Arron asked in amusement.

Cletus’ only answer was to roll his eyes, then he triumphantly pulled the cartridge from his multi-tool. “Made it. Now we just have to insert it into one of the park attendants. But that’s a job for one of you.”

Arron hesitated a moment, then he reached for the cartridge. “Simply tell me what I have to do. How do I activate it? And how can I get it back out afterward?”

“The park attendants have a slot for cartridges left of their visual interface.” When Arron looked at him quizzically he added: “On their ‘head’ next to the ‘eyes’. The code starts itself once the cartridge is inserted and it detects a connection to the system. Afterward, it deletes itself. After all, I don’t want Goal to start singing once she gets her cartridge back. Oh, and about getting it back out: Ever heard of an eject button?”

Arron sighed and started moving. One of the park attendants wasn’t all that far away although it luckily wasn’t close enough to have heard them planning all this. It had greeted them upon arrival, told them were to set up the tents and listed the park’s rules, although only Cletus had been listening to that. Now it greeted Arron again and sounded so unenthusiastic that Cletus was sure these bots were not controlled by Ronny but had their own network. So much the better. He really didn’t want to mess with Elysium’s AI.

Cletus couldn’t understand what Arron told the park attendant. He only saw him point towards some trees and when the bot turned in that direction, Arron quickly inserted the cartridge into its slot. For a moment the park attendant froze. Then it spread its arms and belted out a song that could probably be heard in the entire Floating Gardens. “When I think of the daaayy, when I heard you sayyyy, that you stiiiill loooove meeee…”

Arron flinched at the volume but had nevertheless enough presence of mind to retrieve the cartridge before sprinting back to the others. The park attendant followed him and kept singing. “Do not leave, oh my love, for I stiiill looove youuu…”

Lucia laughed and covered her ears. “Well, that is hard to ignore.”

Cletus held out his hand for the cartridge but Arron was already kneeling next to Goal and reinserted her consciousness. Immediately she opened her eyes and looked around for a moment in confusion before realizing the plan had already been set in motion. She got to her feet, returned Lucia’s grin and then hugged Cletus tight. “It worked!”

“Of course it did,” Cletus grumbled without offering any resistance against the hug.

“It’s just a bit loud.” Arron tried to drown out the singing.

“Next time, you write the programming,” Cletus replied in a huff.

Goal only laughed. “I think it’s great!”

Cletus smiled at her encouragement and put his own arm around her waist. “Anything for you.”

“Breaking my heaaart,” the park attendant bellowed. “Tear me apaaart.”

Lucia was still grinning but now she also sighed wistfully. “This begs the question how we are supposed to get any sleep tonight, though.”

“Or even just talk without yelling,” Arron added.

Cletus had no answers to either but he still glared at them. “You just don’t know what you want, do you? Well, let’s abort the camping trip now. You’ll obviously keep complaining no matter what we do.”

Goal let go of him. “Hmm, I think that would be best. I don’t think the bot is going to get tired anytime soon. At least, not before we get very tired of its singing. Besides, we already had a good time so far. So it’s not a total loss.”

Just half an hour ago that would have been music to his ears. But now he was somewhat miffed the evening would end like this in spite of his efforts.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. From further within the gardens came voices of other Elysian excursionists who had noticed their musical backdrop. They hurried to take down their tents before anyone came to check where all the noise was coming from.

Then they rushed back to the shuttle pods that were luckily still in use after dusk. They carried them back to the main station where Arron and Lucia said their goodbyes in a relatively cheery mood and insisted they should try this again. Cletus highly doubted it would ever come to that.

“Should I take you home?” Cletus knew this was a gesture Goal usually valued, but after his encounter with Ulysses, he was doubtful whether this was actually a good idea.

Goal shrugged. “My father isn’t expecting me back home so soon and I don’t really want to explain to him why we came back early. Can I maybe stay at your place?”

Cletus suppressed a groan. After everything he went through, now this. She probably expected him to leave the bed to her and sleep on the sofa. But he was too tired to argue with her and didn’t want to ruin the more favorable impression she currently had of him. “Alright,” he said and after leaving their luggage in a storing compartment so he wouldn’t have to carry it around now, he offered his arm to her and led her towards his apartment.

The house bot had already changed to night mode, but since they had already had dinner there was no reason to activate it. Goal only insisted on checking in on Poisonous and again Cletus gave in with a sigh. He followed her to his room where she gushed at “Precious” that he was such a good little monitor, then she covered his cage with a blanket.

Cletus raised his eyebrows. “What-?” he started but Goal didn’t let him finish the question.

“What an evening! It was actually a lot like you, Cletus: sometimes terrible and yet with some incredible moments. You are occasionally hard to be around, but then again you are downright amazing. I was so unsure what would happen if someone got access to my implant, but you proved you can be trusted.” She pulled him close and kissed him. “I knew I know you better than my dad. Let him be as pessimistic as he likes. I know what I’ve got in you.”

She kissed him again and this time her hands wandered over his chest and down to his backside. She held him close and raised her hands to his collar where she started fumbling with the zipper keeping his vinyl suit shut. Finally, Cletus realized what she was up to and started exploring her curves with trembling hands.

And when she pushed him towards the bed he knew he had been wrong. This was one of the best days of his life.


	10. Chapter 10

Cletus awoke with an aching back and hair in his face. Someone else’s hair.

He brushed the red-golden strands aside and pulled a few more stray hairs from his mouth where they must have ended by accident.

Glancing at the clock he realized that it was half-past eight and thus pretty early for Elysian standards, but he doubted he’d be able to get back to sleep. Already the electronic blinds were starting to very slowly let more light into the room to allow a leisurely start into the day.

Next to him, Goal was stirring, but she kept her eyes closed for now. A grin was tugging at his mouth. He made it! After spending the night with him, Goal would hardly dump him suddenly, would she?

Sharing a bed with her may have been anything but comfortable, but she had reacted with a blank look when he asked her to sleep on the couch. At least he had bought a rather wide bed when moving here since Poisonous liked sleeping close to him. And Goal may be considerably taller but she was also much less prickly.

Cletus got out of bed and wandered into his bathroom. He couldn’t say whether it was due to last night but taking a shower felt especially good today. He hummed to himself as he shaved and got ready.

When he returned to Goal she was sitting in his bed wide awake and smiled as she saw him. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.” She held out a hand as he was about to answer. “No, don’t tell me. I know you don’t like sharing your bed. How about your other stuff though? I thought your slip was pretty cute. Would you-?”

“It wouldn’t look half as good on you as it looks on me,” Cletus interrupted her. “Besides, you already talked me into lending my pajamas to you.”

“Well, you didn’t want to carry my luggage yesterday evening and left it in the storage compartment near the transit station.”

“Yes, nevermind.” To be honest his silk pajamas looked very good on her. Especially because it was rather tight around the chest and her bottom which became even more visible as she got up and sauntered towards him.

“You never told me you had a birthmark,” she said as if having a pretty, brown spot on one of your butt cheeks was something truly remarkable.

Which it actually was, Cletus agreed. Why wouldn’t anyone be proud of such a beauty mark? “Don’t you think it looks somewhat like a crown?” he asked.

Goal chuckled. “It reminds me more of a wombat.”

He tried hard not to look all that hurt, but he was actually very tempted to kick her out. What had he seen in her? She obviously didn’t know what she was talking about. A wombat! How dare she?

She laughed again, put her arm around his shoulders and brushed his ear with her lips. “I like wombats,” she breathed.

What a woman! Cletus felt his face grow hot and his heart beat faster. She was perfect and one day he’d marry her!

He looked up at her and their lips got close when her morning breath wafted towards his nose. He managed to mask his disgust with a forced smile as he pulled back. “Goal, honey, why don’t you go and brush your teeth first?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re so romantic,” she said in a sarcastic tone, but thankfully she obliged and made her way to the bathroom.

He watched her go before remembering something most important and rushing after her. “But don’t you use my toothbrush!”

 

***

 

“You have to work? Today? You can’t be serious, Cletus!”

Cletus suppressed a yawn. He had seen Goal angrier than this and didn’t take her moods as seriously as he used to. “Don’t make a scene, please. If you want to succeed, you just have to show your commitment to the job.”

Goal snorted. “You’re starting to sound like my father.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

“Then I must have worded it wrong,” Goal retorted. “I’ve hardly seen you during the last months. You are almost obsessed with your work. And if you’re not on duty for a change, you don’t feel like going out. You’ve never been all that active, but lately, it makes me die of boredom. It’s hard to really experience anything new on Elysium as it is. And now-“

“But we do go out for dinner every other day!” Cletus interjected. “Do you think someone is simply handing me the money for that?”

“Oh, please. You spend more money on beauty products and lingerie than me. Seems like there’s always enough for that.”

Cletus bit his lip. Unfortunately, she was right about that. In fact, he earned enough to afford everything he needed and have a good time with Goal. But he also had plans that went beyond that. One day, he wanted to propose to her and if he was to have a chance with her, he had to be able to offer more than this. For starters, getting a bigger apartment wasn’t possible with his income. And the demands of the Prime Controller’s daughter surely went beyond that.

But he couldn’t tell her about that. At least not yet.

“What kind of grand things do you want to experience anyway?” he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

She sighed. “You don’t really want to know. I have tried talking to you about my dreams before, but all I got in return was condescending remarks.”

He stopped short. “You cannot refer to your absurd idea of exploring Deponia. Don’t tell me you were serious about that.”

She glared at him, her hands on her hips. “You’re doing it again. But whatever, I had actually been planning for us to visit the theater or the Floating Gardens. But you don’t even have time for that.”

“We can do that some other day.”

Goal stared at him so intently he began feeling rather uneasy. “So you really forgot. And I thought this would mean more to you.”

Just as he was contemplating whether asking what she was talking about would make matters worse, she stomped into the next room and soon returned with a nicely packaged box. Cletus frowned and still was at a loss where this was going as Goal shoved the box into his hands and said with bitter voice: “Happy Anniversary, Cletus.”

Darn. Was it really a year since she had arrived at his apartment unannounced and asked him out for a date? He calculated the date in his head but it looked as of she was right. “Oh. That… I… Thank you.”

“Open it!” she demanded.

Obediently, he unwrapped the box and neatly folded the gift wrapper before setting it aside. Then he opened the box and found a pair of shoes. White, with a thick sole and an elegant design, just as he liked them. He could imagine her making a real effort to find something that pleased him. “Goal, you… Those are great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, idiot.” His embarrassment seemed to pacify her. “I thought you had a better memory than this but this is probably something men are just not good at. Oh well. In any case you’ll agree now that you can’t spend today at work, don’t you?”

He pondered whether she’d get madder when he replied with “Why?” or with “I don’t agree with anything.”, but apparently his expression and hesitation was answer enough for Goal.

“Fine,” she hissed angrily. “I can see you are already married to your job. In that case you don’t need me anymore. Sometimes I really think the only reason I’m still with you is so my father doesn’t think he was right after all.” With that she marched outside and would have slammed the door behind her if it didn’t slide shut automatically.

Cletus considered running after her but given her mood that might even make things worse. He could only console himself with the knowledge that she’d one day realize she was wrong.

 

***

 

The “White Star” was of high standing amidst the Elysian upper class. It was only open for some chosen few, it’s furniture noble and elegant, the food exquisite and expensive. Besides, this club could afford to hire human servers – no clones – instead of the usual service bots.

Cletus had never been inside. Goal had been here for dinner often enough, but she had never asked him to take her. She may not be privy to how exactly his financial situation looked but she could probably guess they wouldn’t let him enter this place.

It was almost ironic that today his work made it possible to get in after all, instead of taking Goal out to dinner as she wanted.

Cletus did his best to keep from gaping at all the splendor. But he couldn’t keep his heart from beating faster. If only he could belong to these people. If only Goal wasn’t being so difficult. If only he was married to the Prime Controller’s daughter he’d surely gain a foothold in the upper class.

“Cletus?” A familiar voice startled him. “What are you doing here?”

“Lucia!” he replied with equal amazement. He hadn’t seen her since their failed camping trip. Arron had tried to contact him several times but he had been too busy to even spend much time with Goal. That’s why he wondered now what he might have missed and whether she had managed to regain the elder’s favor. But as he was pondering this he noticed her outfit. She obviously was here to work just like him. But at least his job had a certain prestige to it while she was nothing but a glorified server. “Are you trying to supplement your research funds?”

She brushed aside a black strand of hair and put one hand on her hip. “Yes, I guess you could call it that. And you? Who did you suck up to, to get in here?”

He made a face and held out the clipboard he was supposed to note his findings on.

“I see,” she said and smiled without mirth. “Well, looks like we are in the same boat then. But that will probably bother you more than it does me.”

Cletus snorted. “Don’t tell me you aren’t frustrated that you don’t belong to them anymore. Weren’t you proud of your connection to the Council of Elders? And now look at you. You didn’t get very far, I’m afraid.”

Lucia shook her head. “The thing that actually frustrates me is how little my scientific work is being valued. But I don’t think you’d understand that. Just like you don’t understand why someone would stand up for their ideals.” She turned to leave. “I have work to do. And so do you. See you later, Cletus.”

He frowned as he watched her leave. He could really do without her self-righteous histrionics. But then he pulled himself together and started ticking off items on his list.

Most of the things he had to check were only routine and soon he hardly noticed his surroundings and focused just on the configuration of pipes, electric installations and whether there were enough emergency signs. Finally, all that was left was to check the cables and he could do that in passing while scanning with his multi-tool.

One table made him pause, though. In the spot where the cable left the ground and went upwards attached to a table leg he was detecting a heightened current density. He scratched his head and came closer, his eyes on his multi-tool.

“Well, well, well. Who have we here? It’s the end of the line model!”

Cletus almost dropped his multi-tool. He had managed to evade Hawk for so long now he had almost forgotten he existed. But now as he appeared out of thin air in front of him not even the blond beard Hawk had grown could hide who he was.

Cletus stepped back hastily and collided with a server carrying a full tray who only managed to stay upright with some difficulty. But Hawk made no move to attack him and only grinned when he saw his fear.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Cletus recited the text Inspector Jennick had taught him in case someone bothered him while he was working and cursed himself silently for how high and strained his voice was. “I have work to do. If you prefer a smooth process, please let me pass and soon you can enjoy your evening again.”

Hawk laughed and moved out of the way. Cletus hoped his submissive approach had not felt like an attack on Hawk’s status and he wouldn’t give him any more grief. But when he approached the table, Hawk stepped behind him and got so close Cletus was trapped between the table and the taller man.

“You probably feel safe, now that you managed to become Goal’s pet. Well, that was more clever than I had expected of you. But she won’t protect you forever. I saw her several times during the last weeks with some friends here in the ‘Star’. But there was no sign of you. Believe me, kiddo, she’ll soon grow tired of you. And then she’ll push you back into the nothingness you came from. I’ll wait.” With that Hawk let go of him and sat down on one of the cushioned chairs next to the table. “Well, you better get your work done now. After all, this is my usual table. So do it well.”

Cletus grabbed hold of the table’s edge as he knelt down. His legs were shaking so badly he feared he might lose his balance otherwise and look even weaker. He crawled forward a bit and switched on the light on his multi-tool. Down here he was at least alone with the table leg… and Hawk’s feet.

He tried to calm down his wildly beating heart. Goal wouldn’t break up with him. Or would she? She had been in a pretty bad mood today. But even if she did he had gotten a lot better at self-defense, thanks to all these hours of Shai-Hulu training he had signed up for and didn’t get around to attend.

The small display on his multi-tool blinked red and got him to focus on the present again. Obviously someone had messed up while laying the cable or an idiot like Hawk had kept kicking the table leg in exactly the wrong spot. In any case the wire inside was so damaged it was about to break. This was pretty dangerous because once it did there could fault arcs hot enough to meld the cable coating. And he doubted the table or the carpet were fireproof.

At least he’d get the satisfaction of having the restaurant close down for the time being so the damage could be repaired. Then Hawk wouldn’t be able to use his beloved table for a while and-

Wait a moment. Cletus scowled at Hawk’s feet and contemplated his options.

What if he hadn’t spotted the damage? If he’d simply leave things be and the ground beneath Hawk’s feet started burning unexpectedly? Wouldn’t that be “tragic”?

On the other hand it could take a while until that happened. Cletus frowned then he prodded the cable with his screwdriver, wedged it under it and gave a little tug. There. The wire was broken. He pushed the cable back the way it was before so the wire ends were close enough to each other that the current was still on.

Then he hesitated again. He had vowed to himself to always be exact and diligent. To make Elysium safe and make a name for himself with his capabilities. But then again he hated Hawk more than anything else.

He reached a decision, switched off the multi-tool and crawled from beneath the table. He hurried to get back on his feet and heard Hawk make some mocking remark but his own blood was thundering in his ears so he didn’t quite understand what he was saying. He scurried to the management bot that supervised the club today.

“Everything is working just fine,” he heard himself say. “I’ll send a more detailed report later on.” And with that he rushed out of the door.

 

***

 

“Mr. Cletus! Wake up, Sir!”

Cletus opened his eyes with an unwilling groan and looked up at his house bot. Did its programming go haywire to make the stupid tin can wake him up like this? “What? Is? It?!” he growled.

“Mr. Cletus! They sent for you. An inquiry board wants to see you. This very morning!” Cletus had never heard the robot sound so upset. Which was the only reason why he sat up in bed instead of sending the bot to get itself checked for malfunctions.

“An inquiry board?” Cletus rubbed his eyes and yawned. “What are you talking about? What in the world is going on here?”

“A fire!” The house bot was beginning to sound more and more panicky. “Last night! There was a terrible fire in the ‘White Star’!”

“Oh,” Cletus replied and tried to suppress a smile half-heartedly. “Were there any casualties?”

“Yes, several persons were severely injured. Luckily, no one died.”

Darnit.

“But the damage to property was immense,” the house bot continued. “The fire almost flashed over to other areas and all of Elysium could have been destroyed. That’s why the elders decided to have an inquiry board. And since you inspected the ‘White Star’ only yesterday, you were summoned urgently to a hearing.”

Oh fuck!

Cletus felt his stomach clench. This couldn’t be happening! Why hadn’t he thought of this possibility yesterday? If only Hawk had croaked. Now Cletus may lose his career, his chances with Goal and everything that ever meant something to him for absolutely no gain.

He was trembling as he got ready and didn’t manage to swallow a single bite of the breakfast the house bot had prepared for him. His thoughts were stuck on the catastrophe that had befallen him so unexpectedly and he almost got lost on his way to the central inspectors’ offices in the administrative complex below the chamber of the Council of Elders.

But when he found his way he arrived quicker than he had hoped for and was ushered into a conference room. He recognized Prime Inspector Elgon, Inspector Jennick and, to his horror, next to some other high-ranking inspectors, Elder Un.

Cold sweat gathered against his nape. Should he greet them with a smile? Should he pretend to be worried about the wounded? Or would they use that against him? In the end he settled for a hopefully neutral expression and sat down at the only empty place next to a singular table facing the others.

“Inspector Cletus,” Elgon began. “I assume you were informed about the reason for this hearing? About the fire in the ‘White Star’?”

“I, uhm, well, my house bot told me about it this morning. And then I came here as fast as I could.”

Elgon glanced at Jennick in annoyance. “Wasn’t Inspector Verlet supposed to alert him last night?”

Jennick only sighed. She had dark rings under her eyes and looked like they hadn’t failed to alert her during the night. Maybe she had even helped coordinate the firefighters.

Elgon didn’t look satisfied but apparently decided to drop the subject. “Well, however that may be. In any case, the worst case of conflagration in the history of Elysium happened last night and our dear fellow Elysians expect us to find out its cause as soon as possible so we may prevent something like this from ever happening again. You were on location yesterday, Cletus. I know you probably didn’t have time to write your report yet, but as the management bot informed us you didn’t find any problems. Do you have an explanation for what might have happened?”

They didn’t know yet what caused the fire! It made Cletus take heart. “No, Sir, I’m afraid I can’t say what could have caused this,” he tried faking ignorance. “When I checked the locale yesterday, everything was in top shape.”

He could only hope they wouldn’t examine the “White Star”’s ruin too closely and maybe file this whole case as a mysterious cause of spontaneous combustion. Unfortunately, Elgon didn’t look as if he was about to treat this with his usual indifference. “How very unlike you, Cletus. Even Inspector Jennick insisted that you usually aren’t negligent in your work.”

“I’m not negligent!” Cletus protested before he could stop himself.

“Then I expect a better explanation,” Elgon said icily.

Cletus stared down at his white gloves. If he had just spent the evening with Goal nothing of this would have happened. But now there was no going back and he could only hope… An idea came to him all of a sudden and he clenched his fists. This might be his way out!

“Well, if you put it like this,” he began with fake hesitation. “I did notice something, but… I really don’t want to insinuate anything. I simply met an old schoolmate who I know is involved with… well… ideologies that are directed against the noble institution of the Council of Elders. Her name is Lucia, daughter of Narcius.”

There was much murmuring among his audience and he saw Elder Un lean over to Elgon and whisper agitatedly.

Finally Elgon addressed him again. “Inspector Cletus. Are you suggesting this Lucia person might have set the ‘White Star’ on fire?”

Cletus raised his hands defensively. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m merely saying that someone who has demonstrated a grudge against the ruling class was present. And shortly after that the building was on fire.”

The murmuring started again and Elgon hectically called two of his adjutants to him and sent them forth after giving them instructions. Cletus hid a smile behind his folded hands. He was sure he had managed to get out of trouble yet again.

When Elgon dismissed him he had to fight to not to get up too enthusiastically. He was halfway to the door when another voice asked him to wait a moment. He was surprised to see Elder Un had stood up and was approaching him.

“Inspector Cletus,” the elder said. “I have to say I’m very impressed by your courage and voraciousness. It must have been hard to reveal all this to us and yet you showed true strength of character. My colleagues and I have been looking for someone to entrust with a special mission for a while now. And I believe we have finally found the right man.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always any and all comments (short or long, positive or negative) are very, very welcome.


	11. Chapter 11

Cletus did his best to stand as upright as he could when he joined Elder Un in the elevator. He had never been beyond the administration levels and the thought of standing before the Council of Elders caused both an indescribable satisfaction and a nervous twinge in his stomach.

A growl came from his belly. Okay, maybe he was only hungry after all.

Un glanced at him sympathetically and petted his own belly that, compared to Cletus’ slim shape, bulged quite a bit over his waistband and wasn’t concealed all that well by the wide robe he wore. “Don’t worry, Inspector, it may be a bit earlier than when we usually have our meetings, but I’m sure Elder Quatre will be there with pastries. He has a favorite bakery he frequents and will be eager to help us out.”

Cletus forced a grin. “How… uhm… fortunate.” As much as he longed for breakfast, he could hardly keep from rolling his eyes. Cake wasn’t his main concern right now. He still didn’t know what the elders wanted him to do. Even though the recognition alone felt good, his experience taught him to be skeptical.

After Un had called him back and promised a “special mission” Cletus had to stay in the conference room while Un contacted his fellow elders and talked them into having a meeting. If he had known how long that would take, he’d probably have tried to excuse himself so he could go home and have a bite. But Un had kept putting him off.

The elder also had insisted they didn’t wait in the council’s chamber for the other three. Maybe he was hoping for a more dramatic entrance when he showed up a bit later in the company of the person they had apparently been looking for. It was possible Un was seeking a way to distinguish himself from Deux and Trois who were both quite a bit older than him.

In the end, Cletus didn’t care, as long as he could get it over with and so he had jumped at the call when Un told him to get into the elevator at last.

Un stroked his brown mustache and cleared his throat. In the next second the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened.

In front of Cletus there was a wide room with high ceilings he might almost call a hall. On one side he spotted a cocktail bar, in the middle there was an area with probably artificial turf and palm trees that had a hammock swinging lazily between them. To his right there was a spacious ball pool that looked as if it was used rather frequently, judging by the number of balls outside of the actual pool.

But across from him four ornate armchairs were standing on a slightly raised platform. Three of them were taken and while Cletus was still gazing around in amazement Un walked past him and took his seat in the remaining armchair.

To the far left Elder Deux was sitting, his snow-white hair contrasting nicely with his black skin and his hands folded over a round belly just as big as Un’s. Next to him Elder Trois was busy drinking a cocktail which would have raised some eyebrows, considering his age and the time of the day, if it were anyone else. But being an elder came with the benefit of not being questioned about his habits. Then there was Un who looked very pleased with himself. The youngest of the four, Elder Quatre, beamed at Cletus. His red hair was draped up into an elaborate hairdo and his cake intake had left its mark on his body although he was still a lot slimmer than his colleagues.

Cletus swallowed and approached them slowly, eager to get this over with.

Un cleared his throat. “As I was indicating when I called you this may be the solution to our little problem. This is Inspector Cletus. He is rather young but that also means he should be up to the task physically. Besides, he has shown himself to be brave and loyal, ready to tell the truth even at great personal cost.”

Cletus bit his tongue and bowed stiffly. What in the world did they want him for?

“Splendid!” Elder Quatre cried. “Inspector, you really have to try these blueberry muffins. They’re excellent. Did you bring a plate? Oh, never mind if you didn’t. We have some here. It’s so much better not to talk on an empty stomach.” He smiled even wider and waved a service bot over who immediately got around to hand out plates with muffins to the elders and Cletus.

Trois obviously preferred his cocktail and put the plate on a little table near him. The other elders hardly reacted to the interruption. Apparently they were used to their meetings being like this.

Cletus held on to his place and struggled not to show his impatience openly, but by now he was almost about to blow a fuse. “What kind of mission do you have in mind?” he managed to ask, then he took a quick bite of his muffin so nothing that sounded like “you sorry lot” or “do you ever get anything done around here?” slipped out.

Elder Trois leaned back and regarded him for a moment. “Well, let me explain a bit. You are of course aware of the plans to detonate our former home planet, I assume?” When Cletus nodded, still chewing on his muffin, the elder continued: “It has been decades since the state of Deponia became so hostile to life it was unavoidable to leave the planet. As far as we know the unfortunate souls who had been left behind because of our lack of space have succumbed to the harsh conditions. And yet there are persistent rumors of people on Deponia who managed to survive against all odds. Of course we have the word of our highly esteemed prime controller, who keeps assuring us there is nothing true about these rumors. Still, this council decided it would be preferable if one or more independent observers checked the situation before we give the signal to blow up Deponia.”

Cletus raised an eyebrow. He had heard about this conflict from Auria and Goal was among those who never tired of making up some wild stories about surviving Deponians. “Yes, yes, I know about all that. But what does it have to do with me?”

Elder Un smiled complacently. “Isn’t that obvious? You are to inspect Deponia and see if there are people living down there.”

Cletus choked on a crumb of his muffin and was close to suffocating. That netted him another experience of getting close to death but also gave him some more time for deciding whether he should answer with “No!”, “Heavens, no!”, “Under no circumstances!” or “I’d rather die!”.

Elder Deux hurried to add a few words before Cletus regained his breath. “We would compensate you generously for your troubles, of course. You’d never know any want again and…” he glanced at his fellow elders and continued when Trois nodded at him, “we’d make sure to allocate a bigger apartment to you, one that’s more suitable for someone of your status.”

That sounded a bit better, but the prospect of having to go to a planet completely covered by trash and pollution still was the opposite of everything he ever wanted. He couldn’t help but pull a face in disgust and saw the elders whisper among themselves. “What… what was that about ‘status’?” he finally asked weakly.

Trois cleared his throat. “Well, you’d be our representative on another planet, so to speak. That’s why we’d officially name you ambassador of Elysium.”

Ambassador! Cletus’ jaw dropped open in awe. That was almost on the same level as a prime controller. Maybe even better! He’d finally be able to propose to Goal and then he’d really belong. All his dreams would come true and the only thing he’d have to do was to endure a few days or weeks down in the trash.

He stood with his hands on his hips. “Very well, gentlemen. I’m willing to agree to these terms. Of what kind of time frame are we speaking here?”

There was an audible sigh of relief from the elders. “As the preparations for the detonation are as good as complete,” Elder Un explained, “you should leave as soon as possible. Chose an assistant and discuss the particulars of your journey with Prime Controller Ulysses. Since he controls Deponia’s infrastructure he will arrange your transportation and provide an escort. We already agreed with him on this and will only have to inform him of the identity of the representative we have chosen.”

Cletus nodded gravely even though his heart was beating wildly. He was Ambassador Cletus now, representative of the Council of Elders, and he was about to meet the Prime Controller. This time Ulysses wouldn’t be able to dismiss him. Because now nobody could ignore him anymore.

 

* * *

 

He still felt numb as he took the elevator, rode down again and stepped onto the street outside the administration complex. It was almost unreal how well this all went. He was an ambassador of Elysium! He made it! He had reached the top and no one would look down on him again.

“Cletus!” He looked up in confusion and recognized Arron running towards him. “There you are at last! I was looking for you everywhere!”

Cletus cleared his throat and tried to look a bit taller. “I was called before the Council of Elders. You won’t believe it, but I was entrusted with an important mission: I’ll go to Deponia and inspect the planet to see if there are still humans there.”

Arron didn’t look as if he had paid attention. “That’s… that’s great, I guess. Not what I expected, but nevermind that.” He grabbed Cletus’ shoulders and stared down at him gravely. “Lucia got arrested! She was already on her way home when the fire in the ‘White Star’ started, but for some reason they think she had something to do with it. It’s absurd! She was devastated when she learned of the fire and the casualties. She wanted to go back and help put out the fire. I had to hold her back and tell her the firefighters are much better trained and equipped for that than her.”

Arron’s eyes filled with tears and Cletus was tempted to free himself from his grip. “Listen, Arron…” he started haltingly.

“She is a really good person,” Arron whispered and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “She doesn’t deserve this. Cletus, I know you were in the ‘White Star’ yesterday, too. You have to testify for her. You know she’d never do anything to harm anyone.”

Cletus coughed and took a small step back. “Well, you know, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. She can get somewhat… forceful if she doesn’t like something.”

“You cannot be serious! I know you had your differences. But in the end she never stopped hoping you’d find your way and be happy. She never bore you a grudge. And she didn’t wish others any harm either.”

Cletus folded his arms. “That’s what she told you. But who knows what she really was thinking. I for one won’t risk my career for the sake of a potential terrorist.”

Now Arron’s tears were gone at least. But in their stead there was something else which made Cletus widen the safety distance he held to him. Just a bit. “Now I see,” Arron growled. “Your career. That’s what matters to you, right? That’s what you’re willing to sacrifice anything and anyone for. And you don’t care what anyone has done for you. You don’t care about Lucia. You don’t care about me. And you probably don’t care about Goal either.”

“That’s not true at-“

“Yes, it is true! Testifying for Lucia wouldn’t hurt you. Unless…” Arron froze and glared at him. “You made a mistake and blamed her for it.”

“I didn’t blame her for anything. I simply pointed out to the inquiry board that Lucia works in the ‘White Star’ and-“

Cletus found himself sitting on the floor, his jaw hurting quite badly. Arron stood over him, his hand still clenched into a fist. “You dirty rat! You set them on Lucia! Don’t you deny it! How could you?!” Cletus raised his hands in defense but Arron didn’t punch him again. “I don’t ever want to see you again!” he hissed. “Just go down into the trash. That’s where a rat like you belongs. And I hope you’ll never come back!”

With that Arron whirled about and stormed off. Cletus looked around to see how many Elysians had witnessed their quarrel. Luckily, the streets were almost empty and those few onlookers who had watched them were realizing the show was over and went back to their own business.

Cletus stood up, patted away some imaginary dust and massaged his jaw. Apparently Arron hadn’t caused him any lasting damage. At least, apart from ruining his mood.

He pressed his lips together. Did Arron really want to see him dead? Well, why should he care about it? After all, they hadn’t been all that close, even after Arron helped him to… He brushed the thought aside.

Let Arron think of him what he wanted. All persons of high standing attracted those who felt envy at them. Maybe that was what happened here: Arron had been dreaming of going on adventures on Deponia when he was a child. He was probably jealous that Cletus was now about to do what Arron used to want for himself. And that made him react so strongly.

But he could live with those little people being jealous of him, Cletus told himself. He did his best to look as confident as possible and set out for Ulysses.

 

* * *

 

The way to the Prime Controller’s office complex wasn’t long, but Cletus kept hesitating. In his mind he rehearsed what he was going to say, wrecked his brain about what kind of objections Ulysses might have to Cletus becoming his son-in-law and how he could respond to them.

In front of the door he took a deep breath, then he rang the doorbell and straightened his back.

The door slid open and he found himself face to helmet with a strange man. He was of a similar build to Cletus, but wore a greenish grey uniform that was armored around his chest and shoulders, as well as dark red gloves and a cape of the same color. But what made him stand out even more was his helmet which hid most of his face but allowed a glimpse of his eyes and the bridge of a long, straight nose behind a tinted visor.

Cletus hesitated a moment but before he could think of anything to say the other man took a step back and gestured for him to come in. “Inspector Cletus, I assume. My name is Argus. Bailiff Argus. I’m here to take you to the Prime Controller.” His voice was distorted by static.

Cletus stepped into the corridor and waited for Argus to show him the way, but the latter had folded his arms and blatantly stared at him. Just as being examined like this was getting really uncomfortable, the bailiff shrugged and remarked: “You didn’t keep in shape all that well. But no matter, we probably won’t find someone more suitable.” With that he turned away and strode down the hallway, letting his cape swing behind him ostentatiously.

Cletus hurried to keep up with him even though he was fuming. How dare this stuck-up moron treat him like that? Did he really think he was better than Cletus? He was probably terribly ugly if he had to keep that helmet on all the time.

He almost walked into Argus when the latter stopped abruptly and opened a nondescript door on the left side of the hallway. Inside there was a spacious office with a massive desk. Behind it a man sat in a large armchair as if he was a king about to greet his subjects.

Cletus swallowed. He hadn’t seen Ulysses since the day he tried inviting Goal for camping, but he had lost nothing of his intimidating presence. On the contrary, now that he was wearing an armored uniform, similar to that of Argus, he looked even more massive than before. But unlike Argus he wasn’t wearing his helmet but kept it on his desk where it seemed to glare at Cletus through an empty visor.

All of a sudden he felt as if he was back then, the shame and helplessness Ulysses caused him when he forbade him to ever see Goal again. All the great arguments he had prepared, on the other hand, wouldn’t come to his mind.

“Prime Controller Ulysses,” he began haltingly but was immediately interrupted.

“Inspector Cletus,” Ulysses said and smiled so broadly, the number of teeth he showed made him look even more menacing. “Or should I say: Ambassador Cletus? It’s a pleasure to finally meet you again.”

“Really?” The word slipped out before Cletus could stop it. “I mean, uh, the pleasure is all mine. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a long time.” He tried returning the smile and hoped Ulysses didn’t notice how much he was sweating.

“Is that so?” Ulysses stapled his fingers. “I assume this is about my daughter. As I heard the two of you still are quite close.”

Cletus glanced at Argus but much to his annoyance the other man made no move to leave and get them some privacy. Instead, he was leaning against the door, his arms folded, and kept an eye on Cletus.

While Cletus really had been planning to use this meeting to talk about Goal and maybe even ask for her hand, he hadn’t planned to have such an audience. “Well…” He coughed. “We… uh… I…”

Ulysses’ smile had faded although he didn’t seem angry. But his face had taken on a rather serious expression and he leaned forward as if to make sure he didn’t miss any emotional cue Cletus might show. “Goal’s happiness is very important to me. That’s why I have to make sure nothing happens to her. You do care about her, too, don’t you?”

“Oh yes, of course.”

Ulysses nodded slowly. “Of course,” he repeated. “It’s a relief to hear that. Because, you see, there is a problem that could ruin all of Goal’s happiness forever.”

“Oh no!” Cletus cried. He sounded a bit too dramatic but it was all he could think of.

Under his thick beard Ulysses’ mouth twitched in amusement, then he was serious again. “You know, Cletus, back then when it was decided to build Elysium we were expecting Deponia’s surface to become uninhabitable within a few years.”

Cletus frowned. Why did Ulysses bring up Deponia now? He thought they were talking about Goal. He wondered what kind of reply the Prime Controller might be expecting but before he came up with something Ulysses continued.

“During the following years the population numbers declined as expected. But…” Ulysses fell silent and signaled Argus to chime in.

“They just won’t die off. Whether that’s because the surface is far less toxic than first assumed or if the Deponians simply adapted to the circumstances is a moot discussion. Yet after hitting an all-time low about ten years ago the population density rose again and has been growing ever since then.” He burst out laughing but the static of his vocoder made it sound like a rasp. “My men decimate their number a bit from time to time, but killing Deponians isn’t really our main objective. So far. Frankly, we have plenty of other things to do.”

“You mean…” Cletus stammered, “the rumors are actually true? There are people on Deponia? But… but… why did you tell the Council of Elders… I mean… my mission?” With a shudder he realized all his plans were about to vanish into thin air. Would they take away his status as ambassador, too?

Ulysses sighed. “Yes, that means your mission would be obsolete, ambassador.” Cletus had the nagging feeling the Prime Controller could read his mind, but he was too disturbed to even answer. “But there’s something even worse: If the Council of Elders learns of the Deponians it is quite likely they will cancel the detonation and thus our journey to Utopia. Can you imagine what that will mean for Elysium?”

Cletus paled even more. “Before long our resources will be depleted, especially when it comes to fuel. The solar collectors alone don’t generate enough energy to keep Elysium at this level.”

“And thus Elysium would become another mount of trash on this dump of a planet,” Argus added. “And even though the atmosphere isn’t poisonous, it reeks of decay. Even though the food keeps you alive, it is disgusting. Not to mention clear water being so rare many think it only exists in legends.”

Cletus felt his stomach churn. This sounded so terrible he would hesitate to call existing under such conditions living. Just the thought of _him_ ending up in this trash…

“Now you hopefully understand that this is not a suitable life for Goal,” Ulysses said gravely.

Of him and Goal ending up in this trash, of course. “That’s so horrible! What shall we do? I don’t…”

“Well, the whole problem wouldn’t even exist if the Council of Elders never learned about the existence of the Deponians, would it?” Ulysses said slowly and smiled thinly.

Cletus stared at him. “You want… you want me to keep quiet about this? Falsify my report?” He felt his hackles rise. Elysium’s justice system differentiated between perpetrators depending on their wealth, status and reputation, but he doubted his title of ambassador would protect him in case someone found out and he was charged with treason. On the other hand he’d have the Prime Controller himself on his side should this happen. And the consequences of telling the truth were too horrible to consider either.

Ulysses was still smiling. “’Falsify’ is such a harsh term. You’d be protecting Goal from harm. Didn’t you tell me how much you care about her just some minutes ago?”

That was true. It actually was completely selfless of him to go along with the plan. He’d be doing it for Goal, after all. Even the Council of Elders would have to see that if he was caught. But clever as he was it wouldn’t come to that. “Yes,” he said. “I’d do anything for Goal. If only she was my wife I’d agree to anything you asked of me.”

Ulysses’ smile faded away. He glanced at Argus who had raised both eyebrows. Then he stood up, walked over to Cletus and towered over him. After a moment of struggle he stiffly extended his hand. “Agreed. You will make sure the Council of Elders never learns Deponia is inhabited and in return I’ll agree with you marrying my daughter.”

Cletus’ heart beat wildly as he stood up as well and shook Ulysses’ hand. What a clever move! Now he not only had his new status as ambassador but also got green light for his marriage to Goal. He doubted anyone but him could have pulled that off.

While Ulysses looked as if he had bitten into a lemon, he stilled nodded at Cletus and waved Argus over. “Since this is settled I do hope you’ll be ready for departure soon, Cletus. Or is there something important you have to do first?”

Cletus cleared his throat. “Well, the Council of Elders decreed I should choose an assistant to accompany me. But I already have my mind on someone: a colleague of mine who has a brain implant. She’s always in financial troubles, you know-“

“Spare me. The only thing that matters to me is if this assistant could in any way cause us trouble.”

Cletus’ lips curled in annoyance. “I was just getting to that. If we offer her enough money she’ll surely keep her mouth shut. She isn’t all that curious but always looking for a bit of extra income.”

Ulysses nodded again. “Yes, good thinking. Discuss all the details with Argus then, ensure the silence of your assistant and prepare for the journey. You should be ready in three days at the latest. Argus, take care of applying for a copy of the ascension codes with the Council of Elders. You know how much paperwork that takes.”

“Ascension codes?” Cletus repeated.

Argus barked his jarring laugh. “Oh, you wouldn’t want any of the rabble gain access to the ascension stations and take over one of the cable boats to get to Elysium. That’s why all the boats are secured with a highly complex code.”

“Of course,” Cletus replied. “I’ll commit it to memory and-“

“No, you won’t,” Argus interrupted him. “The code is far too complex to even write it down. We’ll store it on a cartridge you should then guard like the apple of your eye.”

“Didn’t you say your assistant had a brain implant, Cletus?” Ulysses chimed in again. “Just store the ascension codes on the implant, Argus. Then they should be safe from getting lost.”

Cletus nodded in agreement and took a deep breath. This was just getting better and better and there was no stopping him.


	12. Chapter 12

 

“You’re not listening to me!” Argus’ electronically distorted voice disrupted his thoughts.

Yes, he probably wasn’t. After all, he had a lot to think about and it was hard to keep from planning his proposal to Goal. If Argus hadn’t asked him urgently to discuss the details of their journey right after he had finished talking to Ulysses, he’d already be on his way to Goal.

“What does it even matter? The report won’t be true to the facts anyway. So it won’t make a difference into which corner of Deponia you’ll take me,” Cletus retorted in a huff.

Argus had been bent over a map of Deponia but now he straightened himself and folded his arms. “Until now I had the impression that – in spite of all your physical deficits – you at least had some sense, Inspector Cletus. How disappointing that you apparently have no interest in preparing for all eventualities and questions the Council of Elders may have.”

Cletus glowered at him. “The Council of Elders can barely find their way around Elysium. I highly doubt they have the necessary knowledge about Deponia’s geography to even ask questions. But if it makes you feel better we can go over it again.”

He took a look at the map himself and pointed at one of the few dots that at least sounded familiar to him. “So we set down in Porta Fisco, the old capital surrounded by the rust-red-sea. Then we ride in a cruiser that can move on monorail tracks over all of Deponia to the metropole-“

“Wrong!” Argus interrupted him. “As I said, the metropole is far too dangerous. It actually is the only place on Deponia that really is devoid of humans because an artificial swarm intelligence went homicidal there. It was hard enough to build bomb towers there. Ferrying civilians through that place in one piece is the last thing I need.”

“That’s what I meant,” Cletus replied and cleared his throat. He didn’t like getting corrected, but admitting Argus knew more about Deponia than him was almost worse.

The bailiff snorted. “Of course you did. As I was about to tell you, our tour will be limited to one continent.” He pointed at the land mass left of Porta Fisco. “Aporimata. We’ll move alongside the northern coast until we reach Parks in the west of the continent. Then we pass through Miseria on our way south to the Shrapnell Coast. From there we’ll go northeast again to the Three Quarters and back to Porta Fisco east of its shore.” Argus rose again and put his fists on his hips. “This excursion alone will take more than two weeks so the Council of Elders should be content with your inspections even if we don’t get to see Dysrope and Haldica. At least, it should be in their own interest to not delay the detonation more than necessary.”

Cletus nodded. Unenthusiastic as he was about visiting this trash heap of a planet he sure didn’t mind that he wasn’t expected to have a look at everything. “Well, if that would be all…” he tried to excuse himself, but Argus wasn’t even listening.

“And it works fine with my schedule as well,” the bailiff said in a low voice. Then he walked around the table with the map and invaded Cletus’ personal space who instinctively backed away a bit. “Two weeks can be a very long time. A period during which you’ll be in unknown, hostile terrain. How fortunate I and my men will be there to protect you. After all, it’d be such a shame if something happened to you.”

Cletus frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Was Argus telling him to be more grateful?

The bailiff bent forwards and whispered in his static-distorted voice: “By the way, it may interest you that Ulysses wanted you dead in case you didn’t agree to his plan. I was to stage a little accident and then alter your report to make it more suitable to our needs. It was very clever of you not to give him a reason to get rid of you.”

Cletus froze. Through the bullet-proof glass of Argus’ visor he could see his eyes glittering dangerously. “Ulysses wouldn’t… I mean, he agreed to let me marry his daughter… He would…”

Argus didn’t give in a single inch. “Believe what you want. But if I was you, I’d think about who I’d want as an ally at my side.”

“What do you want?” Cletus whispered hoarsely.

He couldn’t see Argus’ mouth, but he sensed the other man smiling as he answered. “I want the ascension codes. I don’t want to be dependant on the prime controller’s whim about where I can and cannot go.”

“But you’re going to copy them to Mrs Kinkel’s brain implant anyway. Why don’t you get your own copy then?”

Argus snorted. “Elysium’s systems are under strong surveillance. If I am to make myself a copy I’ll have to do that down on the planet.”

Cletus pressed his lips into a thin line. Argus’ demands didn’t sound that unreasonable, even though he still couldn’t believe Ulysses harbored ill feelings towards him. Finally he nodded curtly. “Very well, I’ll see to it that you’ll get these codes.”

“And I’ll take care of getting you back to Elysium alive.”

Cletus held out his hand and almost dropped to his knees when Argus took it and clamped on his hand so badly he felt every bone in his fingers. “Here’s to our joined venture then,” he managed to get out through clenched teeth.

Argus only laughed.

 

****

 

Cletus couldn’t remember ever being so tired and excited at the same time. What a day this had been! Just this morning he had believed his career, all his ambitions and maybe even his life were forfeit. And then, through sheer skill and wit, he had gained more than he had ever dreamed of.

Although it did come close to what he had imagined in his dreams.

After talking to Argus he had hurried home, had learned that Goal had asked about him, had written her an invitation to dinner and sent the house bot to bring it to her. The rest of the day he had spent with making sure he looked his best. The few hours he had were hardly enough, but now, finally, he was sitting in “Kendra’s”, a very nice restaurant with a lovely view of the Floating Gardens. It may not be the “White Star”, but right now he didn’t want to think about that.

The food was both exquisite and expensive enough to talk Goal into postponing any questions to later. While she didn’t look pleased with the lack of information, he wasn’t about to propose to her while chewing.

At last he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and pushed his plate away. Goal had mainly poked at her dinner with a fork and had already signaled the service bot to clean away the rest several minutes ago. Now she was drumming her fingers against the table and glowered at him.

“Now, would you finally tell me where you were this morning and why it took you so long to get back to me?” she said irritably. “After what happened last night I was so worried. And then you don’t come up with an explanation but with an invitation to dinner.”

Cletus raised his eyebrows. “Was the food not to your liking? I can call for the chef-“

“No! I mean… yes, I liked it. I just wanted to know… After our fight yesterday, I thought we could talk about everything. But all you do is change the subject.”

Was it really just yesterday that they had their little argument? It seemed so much longer to him. “Well,” he said and made a show of clearing his throat, “you really don’t need to worry about me. I was called to the Council of Elders this morning and after I was able to provide them with the most crucial clues for solving the mystery of the fire in the ‘White Star’, I was promoted.” He waved at the service but and it scuttled over with a bottle of champagne just as he had instructed. “I’m now both an Inspector and Ambassador of Elysium!”

The service bot opened the bottle with a faint pop and poured each of them a glass. Unfortunately Goal looked more confused than impressed, but she still accepted her glass. “Uhm, congratulations, Cletus. That is somewhat unexpected, but nevertheless some good news. Although I don’t quite understand why they would name you ambassador because of that.”

Cletus smiled and clinked their glasses. “Well, there is still the matter of going on a mission, but let’s talk about that later.” He took a swig, then he got up and went around the table to her. “First of all, let me assure you that I was able to set things right between your father and me. And now I feel finally ready to do this.”

He got on one knee in front of her and reached for her hand. “Goal, do you want to marry me?”

Her hand twitched as if she wanted to pull it from his grasp and her jaw dropped. “What?”

He was tempted to roll his eyes. “I asked if you want to marry me.”

She laughed nervously, grabbed his arms and pulled him up as she stood up herself. “Let’s take a walk, alright?”

Cletus felt rather surprised to put it mildly and a bit displeased about her refusal to give him the right answer, but he didn’t want to make a scene. Besides, he had already arranged payment with the restaurant beforehand, so there was no harm in doing what she asked for.

Although he was sorry about the champagne they left behind.

The sun had already disappeared behind Deponia and golden lamps were filling the Chill-Out-Zone with muted light. Goal led him to a balustrade that was almost empty of other people and leaned against the railing. The stars were glittering majestically even though Elysium’s lights dulled their radiance a bit.

But Goal didn’t seem to notice the night sky anyway. She was kneading her fingers and kept evading his eyes. At last she began to talk. “Cletus, I feel very flattered you want to marry me. I’m simply not sure if we really… well… make a good match and…” She struggled more and more.

Cletus shivered. “But we do, Goal, of course we make a great match. I told you, I’m an ambassador now. I’ll be earning a lot more in the future and I’ll be able to afford a great apartment that’s befitting our station. And your father agreed, too, when I asked him for your hand.”

For some reason that made her angry. “Oh? So my father likes you now? Did you finally suck up to him enough for that? And you ask him about marrying me before coming to me?”

“But… but Goal, I did it all for you. I wanted things to be perfect for us. And now I only have to get this mission to Deponia over with and we’ll have it all.”

“Deponia?” That caught her attention. “You’re going on a mission to Deponia?”

Was she afraid for him now? He almost didn’t care as long as it kept her from glaring at him like that. “Yes, yes!” he hurried to reply. “An important mission, given to me by the Council of Elders themselves. I am to inspect Deponia and check whether or not there is any truth to the rumors about humans living there.”

She stared at him and looks so stunned as if he just told her he was actually a wombat in disguise. Then she grabbed his shoulders hard enough that he had to fight against the instinct to flinch back. “Really? They let you go to Deponia?”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s what I just said. But you don’t need to worry about me. Dangerous as the planet may be, I’ll take it all for you.”

“Oh, Cletus,” she breathed and he grinned, pleased with himself. Finally she showed some appreciation for him. “Take me with you! Please!”

“What?!”

“Take me with you to Deponia.”

There wasn’t much left of his grin. “Goal, I can’t take you with me. It would be far too dangerous. Do you know how bad things are on Deponia?”

“You just said, I shouldn’t be worried about you.”

Darnit! “Well, I can deal with danger. But the reason I’m even doing this is because of you. It would be absurd to take you along and risk something happening to you.”

“But you won’t go alone, will you?” Goal prodded.

“I’ll have the Organon escort me. And then there’ll be Mrs. Kinkel. I was told to take another inspector along, you know. And I’ll be busy enough ensuring her safety.”

Goal’s lips became a thin line. Finally, she let go of him and turned away. “Well, if you prefer to take Mrs. Kinkel along…”

“Oh, Goal, come on. You know I’m not interested in the stupid, old cow. But I had to pick an inspector and I thought her having a brain implant could be useful.”

Goal raised her left eyebrow and the implant in her forehead just above gleamed in the twilight. Cletus could have kicked himself for saying this. “Goal…” he started again in a pleading tone but she just shook her head.

“It’s okay. I’m not jealous. But I need a bit of time to think about everything.”

He didn’t like that at all. “Time? Goal, I’ll be leaving in three days.” He sighed theatrically. “Oh well, then think about it, but once we’re married…” He noticed her expression and fell silent.

“Good night, Cletus.” She made no move to kiss him goodbye but at least she looked more serious than furious.

He waved after her and sauntered back to the restaurant.

Unfortunately, they had already cleared away everything on the table and the champagne was gone. Damn!

 

****

 

Cletus wasn’t done with his morning grooming yet when the house bot told him there were visitors. He had sent a message to Mrs. Kinkel right after getting up and asked her to come to see him, but he didn’t expect her to be one of those who showed up before midday. On the other hand, her looks didn’t exactly hint at her taking her time and making an effort to look presentable, so she probably really didn’t need very long to get ready.

With a sigh Cletus told the bot to let her take a seat in the living room and offer refreshments. He hated having to rush, but then again he also wanted to get their talk over with. So he settled with applying a bit concealer and used hair gel to get his hairdo in shape before moving to join Mrs. Kinkel.

But in his living room he didn’t find Mrs. Kinkel but an elegant, middle-aged Elysian with black hair and a neatly groomed beard. Next to him sat an older woman whose hair was dyed golden.

“Hello, Cletus,” Divius said calmly.

Cletus felt adrenalin rising within him. And anger. Especially anger. He almost greeted Divius by replying just “Father.”, but he managed to bite his tongue and only made a “Ffff” sound. Which could be counted as a threatening noise. If you were a bit generous.

Auria got up and approached him, a friendly smile on her face. “Cletus! As far as I heard congratulations are in order.”

He still didn’t manage to get out a single word. Since the incident with Hawk when he stopped going to work for a while Auria had given him the silent treatment. Nevertheless he found it hardly surprising that she showed up again now that obviously word got out he was going to Deponia as an ambassador. She always had her priorities straight. But he couldn’t fathom why she brought Divius, too.

She kept smiling persistently and reached for his hand. “A promotion and now you also got engaged to the Prime Controller’s daughter. I’m really impressed how unerringly you make your way to the top, my boy.”

Cletus blinked. Engaged? But Goal hadn’t replied to his proposal yet. “How…?” he stammered.

Auria laughed her fake laugh. “Well, Prime Controller Ulysses announced this very morning that his daughter and Ambassador Cletus are going to get married once said ambassador returns from his mission to the planet. And news like that tend to spread very quickly.”

Cletus opened his mouth and closed it again after a moment. Apparently Ulysses had taken matters into his own hands. Which was basically a good thing but knowing Goal there were plenty of things that could still go wrong. But he’d deal with that when it came up. Right now he really had other things on his mind.

He pulled his hand from Auria’s grip and folded his arms. “So you came to congratulate me, yes? Don’t make me laugh. I’ve been with Goal for over a year but that wasn’t good enough for you, was it? You didn’t want to risk getting associated with me in case she left me.”

Divius’ face darkened but Auria was still trying to keep up her cheerful façade. “My boy, you’ve got to understand. We invested a lot in you and-“

“You abandoned me!” Cletus cried angrily. “When you thought you couldn’t profit from me you didn’t even make a move to help me and now you dare to show up here like this?” He took a step towards Divius. “Especially you! You made me feel how unwanted I was for my whole life. No matter how much I tried, it was never good enough for you. I was better than my classmates! I didn’t get into trouble! I even stopped spending time with Arron when you wanted me to, although he was the only who ever wanted me, apart from mom-“

“How dare you?!” Divius jumped to his feet and ignored Auria who tried to slow him down with placating gestures. “I told you to never call her your mother again! After all the misery you brought over our family you have the audacity to reproach me? ‘Didn’t get into trouble’. Ha! You were the one who brought this girl into the family who made Arron go astray. I should have never allowed Denesha to take you in. Then Ulysses could have found someone else who lets such a little monster he found junk knows where into their home.”

Cletus was barely aware he had clenched his fists. He would have liked to tackle Divius but something made him hesitate. What did Ulysses have to do with him? He knew he couldn’t expect any answers from Divius but this tidbit alone put him off his stride.

Auria pushed herself in between the two men and put a hand on Divius’ arm. Then she turned towards Cletus again. “Please, my boy, don’t make this any harder. You just said that Arron always cared about you and you probably cared a bit about him, too. He’s going through some hard times but he won’t talk to us. That’s another reason we decided to go and see you.”

Cletus snorted. “It won’t do you any good, though. He doesn’t want to talk to me either.” The memory of Arron’s last words to him hurt more than he expected, but he pushed that aside. He couldn’t afford to show any weakness now that he had come so far. “You know what: it’s not my problem. He always was your golden boy. Deal with him yourself.”

“You ungrateful-“ Divius started, but Cletus didn’t let him finish.

“And now you leave and never come back. You never wanted me and now I no longer need you.”

Auria looked hurt but she remained silent as she hurried past him. Divius stared at him angrily for a moment, then he hissed some very ungentlemanly things at him and followed his mother.

Cletus walked after them to the door as if to make sure they were really gone. Just as they disappeared around a corner he saw Mrs. Kinkel step out of one of the elevators. She had her nose in a book and hardly looked up as she turned in his direction.

Cletus tried to smile confidently, but his hands were still shaking. Oh well, it would do for Mrs. Kinkel.

 

****

 

The last days had passed in a haze.

Goal evaded him, but she had at least sent a note saying she’d be there on the day of his departure and accompany him to the airlocks. He was a bit nervous about her making a scene then, but he hoped Ulysses would be able to get some sense into her.

The Prime Controller had visited him today before returning to Deponia for some final preparations and got his assurance that everything would be ready.

He had agreed to give Mrs. Kinkel more than half his pay for this mission if she remained in her cabin during the journey. That was obviously very much all she wanted from this job as she immediately agreed and merely announced she’d get herself some more novels she could read during the journey.

Cletus was relieved that at least his companion wouldn’t cause him any trouble. That left more time to do his packing.

Besides clothing he also needed his files and his inspector’s kit. To be safe he also included a bolt cutter in case he ever needed to cut through a wire fence. He assumed the Organon would take care of providing him with food even though he preferred not to think about what it would consist of. But just In case he also packed some emergency provisions. And his champagne truffles. The bare necessities.

He bought a travel cage for Poisonous whom he preferred to take along instead of leaving him with the house bot. He would have asked Goal to take care of the monitor but as she refused to speak with him he didn’t want to risk waiting until the day of his departure until he knew what would become of his pet.

Then he withdrew some money from his account. He wasn’t quite sure whether the survivors were still using Zlottis as their currency, but he assumed that a packet of money would look suitably impressive in case he had to get in contact with one of the junkyard dwellers. Just to be sure he also bought some porcelain figurines and cut glass. That wasn’t too expensive but it looked nice and shiny and could do as a replacement for money for those primitives in an emergency.

And then those days had passed and his last evening on Elysium was about to end.

He still couldn’t stop thinking about the things Divius had said about Ulysses. And then there were also Ulysses’ own words, about knowing Cletus and that he would hurt Goal that kept coming up in his thoughts. He just didn’t know what to make of all that.

At last, he pushed those doubts aside and went to sleep. He needed to be well rested tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be the day. The day he went to Deponia.


	13. Chapter 13

As she had promised in a message to him, Goal showed up in his apartment quite early in the morning on the day of his departure and made him regret ever giving her unrestricted access some months ago.

Women! He simply didn’t understand her. Outwardly, Goal seemed in a great mood, laughing and playing with Poisonous. But every now and then she made a scathing comment as if they were fighting. Cletus didn’t know what she might be upset about. Maybe she didn’t know herself.

“Poisonous is rather agitated today,” he said as he set the plague-spit monitor into his travel cage. “He probably senses that something extraordinary is about to happen.”

“Or he has heard too many of your narcissistic monologues.”

There! She was doing it again. He glared at Goal but she just smiled back sweetly. “I’m sure he actually knows how to appreciate me,” he retorted irritably.

Goal only shrugged in reply, just as the doorbell announced some more arrivals. “Those have to be the bots I ordered from Ronny for transporting my luggage,” Cletus said, hoping to use this to change the subject.

He was proven right, but the bots didn’t need long to gather all his bags and suitcases. Cletus gave them a few more instructions which piece of luggage had to be handled with extra care and a few minutes later he was alone with Goal again.

He went through all his rooms again as if he had to say goodbye to every impeccable piece of furniture. Then he stopped in front of the man-high mirror in his entry hallway, the counterpart to the one in his bathroom. How many times had he stood here and had perfected his appearance?

Cletus sighed. It wouldn’t be goodbye for good and what he stood to gain was well worth parting with his stuff. Besides, given his skill, the risk that he wouldn’t make it back here was ridiculously small.

His reflection graced him with a confident grin and he turned to link arms with Goal as they made their way to the next elevator.

She hung to his arm like a dead weight. Cletus rolled his eyes. Apparently, she wanted him to miss his mirror more than her. Yet, when they entered the lift that would take them down to the airlocks he caught himself gazing wistfully at Goal. She was wearing a very form-fitting suit of white vinyl and high-heels that made her curves even more pronounced. Unfortunately, the heels also served to emphasize the height difference between the two of them and made Cletus suspect she had picked these shoes just to look down on him. Nevertheless, she was gorgeous, the way she toyed with a strand of hair and smiled absentmindedly. When she noticed him looking at her she leaned back and returned his stare. “Even today you just couldn’t bring yourself to put on something practical, could you?”

Before he could catch himself his hand went for his collar that was so wide it almost reached his shoulders and curved upwards like a bowl. Wide collars had been a part of male fashion for a while now with each season trying to surpass the one before, which led to practicability getting left by the roadside. On the other hand skin-tight, sleeveless tops and white bell-bottoms that were quite pronounced around the rear were in fashion as well and he couldn’t say he minded.

“And why shouldn’t I put on something fancy?” he retorted and couldn’t keep from sounding rather grumpy. “I’m an ambassador and don’t plan on adapting my outfit to my despicable destination.”

She shrugged. “Well, you do have your priorities straight.”

The elevator’s door opened with a low chime and Cletus had to push himself past Goal who stood closer to the exit but made no move at all.

“Stop dawdling,” he grumbled as he stepped out. “When we’re finally married…” He fell silent. Aside from a load of bags and suitcases, half of which he couldn’t remember packing, the platform leading to the airlock doors opposite the elevator was empty. Likewise, there was no movement on the metal ramps leading down to the docking clamps. “Wait a minute… Where’ Mrs. Kinkel? And what’s all this luggage?”

Now Goal ventured out of the elevator, too, and smiled widely at him. “Uh… surprise!” She spread her arms as if she was waiting for a fanfare. “I talked Mrs. Kinkel into letting me accompany you to Deponia instead of her.”

Cletus needed a moment to realize just what she had said. “What? Are you out of your mind? Your father will never allow it!”

Goal kept up her unfazed smile. “My father doesn’t need to find out. So? What do you say?”

She had obviously gone insane. How did she plan to keep this from her father? And what did she think would become of Cletus if Ulysses found out after all? “I say never!”

Now she wasn’t smiling anymore. “Really? You may be able to wrap pops around your little finger. But just because he agrees to our engagement, doesn’t by any means mean I have to agree to it.”

He stared at her, his jaw slack. How could she make him walk right into this trap? “That’s blackmail!”

She looked very unimpressed. “You can call it what you like. But if you don’t take me with you, you can hold your breath to marry me until you’re blue in the face. It won’t happen.”

“Impossible! This trip to Deponia isn’t some jaunt to the beach! I have an important inspection to carry out!”

Goal suddenly looked very worried, but to Cletus’ dismay she merely cried. “Oh! I almost for Precious’ bathing costume!”

He glared at her. “I said it _isn’t_ a jaunt to the beach! Anyway, how often have I told you to stop calling that animal ‘Precious’?”

“Well, what would you suggest? Princess? Mindy?”

She was mocking him. No doubt about it. But he wouldn’t lower himself to play this game. “None of those! He’s called ‘Poisonous’! After all, he is a highly poisonous plague-spit monitor!” Goal had never taken the danger his pet posed seriously enough. But he couldn’t help but tell her about it again in his most dramatic tone. “One lick of his tongue, and – BAM! Could bring down a fully-grown elephant, no problem.”

“And despite that, you were planning to take him to Deponia, but not me.”

Cletus put his hands on his hips. “Believe me, there are many more dangerous things down there. Bacteria. Radiation. Tetanus. And there isn’t an antidote in the whole of Elysium that can help against Deponian gangrene. By the way… did I pack the antidote for monitor plague-spit?”

“Tadaa!” Goal pulled out a little bottle of pills and placed it on the suitcase in front of Cletus. “You see! I could come in very useful down there.”

“By carrying my things around without permission?” retorted Cletus. “Everything must be safely stowed for my trip to Deponia. The roads down there are paved with danger. Junk avalanches. Shrapnel storms. Ponds of acid. Fallout…”

“Insurgent Deponians,” Goal put in.

“Oh give it a rest, will you. Those stories are nothing more than urban legend. And my inspection will prove precisely that.”

“Ha! So what’s with those lights you can see at night?”

Cletus rolled his eyes. That argument again. Luckily, he had a retort ready for it. “They are from the Organon. Are Ulysses’ men supposed to prepare the detonation of the planet in darkness? They’d fall over their own feet.”

“Hmph. I’m still skeptical.”

Of course she was. Rightly so, unfortunately, but he could hardly admit that. “My travelogue is sure to convince you otherwise. You. The Council of Elders. And everyone else. These rumors are purely the product of general anxiety. I mean… We’re detonating our home planet in order to catapult Elysium right across the cosmos to Utopia. Who wouldn’t be nervous?”

For the first time a hint of uncertainty flitted over Goal’s face. “Hmm. Yeah, but…”

“Enough chitter-chatter,” Cletus interrupted her, hoping to change the topic now. He reached for the pill bottle and tossed it towards her. “Catch! And pack this away.”

Her reflexes worked perfectly well, but to his annoyance she simply dropped the bottle into the nearest bag.

“Does that mean I can come?” she asked hopefully. “Oh, do say yes!”

“Why should I take you with me? So you can cause even more chaos?” He made another attempt to dissuade her. “Just look at how you stuffed the antidote in there! Which bag is that anyway?”

“The one with the rat traps.”

“Rat traps?” Cletus rolled his eyes. “You’ve got to be joking! There isn’t a single living thing down there!!”

“Not even a rat? I’m sure there’ll be mice. Or wombats. And platypi.”

“No!! There aren’t!” Cletus insisted even though he wasn’t all that sure anymore this was a good idea. After all, his mission was to confirm there were no human survivors. But he was also wholly unwilling to give in even a bit. “Stop trying to distract me. The antidote belongs in the pharmacy bag. If only because it causes such heavy-duty flatulence.”

Goal merely raised an eyebrow and even Cletus had to admit his protest wasn’t very convincing. He was running out of arguments, especially those that Goal wouldn’t simply ignore. He sighed. As long as she hadn’t agreed to marry him Goal was in the better position here. “Whatever. If you want to come along, you’ll need to put on some sturdy shoes.”

She beamed again. “So that means I can come, yes? Oh Cletus! Perhaps you aren’t the self-obsessed monster that everyone thinks you are, after all.”

And another snide remark. Although he just agreed to take her along. Cletus pressed his lips together and refused to retort in kind. “Yes. Those idiots simply have no feeling for perfection,” he said, acting as indifferent as he could.

Goal only laughed. “I’ll be right back.”

With that she got back into the elevator and left Cletus behind.

“I’ll regret this,” he murmured. If only Goal wasn’t quite so hot. And also the Prime Controller’s daughter. But that package made every risk worthwhile.

 

***

 

Goal took her sweet time with coming back. Cletus had spent a while standing in front of the elevator and thinking about his situation. Then he started pacing, crouched down in front of Poisonous’ cage, tried to soothe the monitor, got hissed at and started pacing again.

Soon the highboat would arrive. Ulysses had told him he’d go on another short visit to Deponia but today he’d return and stay in Elysium for a few days.

If Goal showed up just as her father returned… Of course he could pretend she was only here to say goodbye to him, but considering her mood she might choose that moment to do something stupid just to get him into trouble.

On the other hand she was clever enough to know she could only come along if Ulysses didn’t catch on.

A jarring signal made him flinch. The highboat was approaching.

The docking maneuver was impressively quick and almost completely automated. Cletus had hurried over to Poisonous again, who flitted around nervously in his cage. “Don’t worry Poisy-Pussy,” he whispered. “Daddy will take care of you.”

The monitor’s tongue, dripping from plague-spit, shot forth between the cage’s bars and barely missed his arm. Cletus hastily retreated, lost his balance and ended up on his behind. “Stupid toad!”

“Attention! Prime Controller on Deck!” Argus’ voice boomed behind him.

Cletus got to his feet as quickly as possible and cursed himself for getting distracted at the worst moment. Prime Controller Ulysses stood next to the airlocks, his arms folded and part of his face hidden because of his helmet. But the part that was visible to Cletus through the tinted visor showed plenty of disapproval as it was. Behind him was Bailiff Argus in almost the same pose like a much more slender and shorter version of the Prime Controller.

“That’ll do, Argus.”

“Ulysses!” Cletus greeted him without being able to quite hide the nervousness in his voice. He discreetly brushed away the dust on his pants and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Ulysses raised an eyebrow. “Inspector. Would you be good enough to tell me what’s going on here?”

“Erm… yes. Well…”

“Stop stuttering and stand up straight. I thought we’d agreed that everything would be ready by the time I arrive.”

Cletus got a hold of himself and at least his voice back under control. “It is.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to dispel Ulysses’ skepticism. “Thus far you’ve given me the impression that you’re a reliable man, Cletus. Do yourself a favor and don’t spoil it. As you know, my daughter’s hand is conditional. The Council of Elders must never find out Deponia is inhabited. Where is your assistant? You were going to introduce her to me.”

Cletus swallowed again. So much for playing it cool. “Oh… my assistant… She forgot something. Women…”

Ulysses made another step towards him. “Forgot? Heavens, Cletus! I thought she had a brain implant. You vouched for her! But I assume she has been made privy?”

“If she… Ah yes. Of course. C-completely privy. Everything’s tickety-boo. There’s absolutely no cause for concern.”

“I hope not.” The Prime Controller sounded anything but satisfied, but he waved his bailiff over. “Argus? Make sure the assistant has the ascension codes loaded into her implant.”

“Very well, Prime Controller,” Argus replied glancing at Cletus.

“Keep an eye on the civilians. I’m going for a shower.” Ulysses shivered with disgust. “It’s about time this horrible, dirty old planet got blown up once and for all.” He pushed the button for the elevator and the doors immediately hissed open as if they didn’t dare make the Prime Controller wait. “At ease!” he said in Argus’ direction and then they were alone again.

Cletus would have liked to breathe easier now but he guessed that would be too early.

“What’s wrong, Cletus? You seem nervous.” Argus’ static-distorted voice came from behind him.

He suppressed a sigh and turned around. “That’s an understatement. Goal says she will only agree to our engagement if… if I allow her to accompany me.”

Argus’ laugh was unpleasantly loud. “Not even engaged, and you’re already under the thumb.”

Cletus folded his arms and glared at him. “You find that funny?”

“Why not? You’ll talk her out of it, won’t you?”

“You don’t know her like I do.”

That made Argus go all serious again. “Heavens, Cletus! Ulysses will…”

“Ulysses must know nothing of this,” Cletus interrupted him. He lowered his voice. “I just have to keep Goal in her cabin. As long as she doesn’t see a Deponian, then everything will be fine.”

Argus gave him a scrutinizing look and shook his head. “I still don’t like it.”

Cletus didn’t either but he simply had no alternative to taking Goal along. Especially now that he had already agreed, she would never forgive him if he tried to take back his word. And thanks to her brain implant she wouldn’t forget about it either.

Wait a second… The brain implant! That could be it! “What if you make a backup of her memories while you load in the ascension codes? Then, if needed, we could reset her memories.”

The bailiff pondered his suggestion. “A backup of her consciousness?” he repeated. “That might work.”

Cletus smiled. In the pit of his stomach something clenched but he was determined to ignore the feeling. Again he had to think about what he had heard from Ulysses. _He is going to hurt you, Goal. Mercy isn’t part of his design._ But this time he didn’t let that stop him. Goal had backed him into a corner, left him no other choice when she blackmailed him. It wasn’t his fault if this was the only way they could be together.

And when she finally returned and was so wildly resolved and enthusiastic, even when he told her Argus had to extract her consciousness cartridge to store the ascension codes on it, he no longer felt any pricks of conscience. Not even when she lay unconscious in his arms and he handed Argus the cartridge.

After all, it was for her own good.

 

***

 

Goal looked angry. Her eyes were slits, her lips pressed into a thin line and her arms were folded. Usually that was a sign for Cletus to seek cover, but since they had been given just one cabin he lacked space for that.

“You could have said something,” she growled at him.

“It was Argus’ decision not to allow us on the bridge,” retorted Cletus. “If you want to be mad at someone, be angry at him, not at me.”

She made a noise that sounded like a mixture of a sigh and a grumble. “All my life I’ve been dreaming of this moment. And now it’s like I’m going to miss it! I wanted to see Deponia get closer. Wanted to finally know for sure if what I read about it is true. About the continents, the polluted seas, the old cities. Instead it feels like solitary custody.”

“Solitary?” he repeated, somewhat offended. “You act as if I wasn’t even here.”

“That’s not what I meant. But you never cared about Deponia.”

Cletus snorted. “And yet you wouldn’t be here now without me.”

She ignored him and paced again between the door and a small desk. Just as she turned towards him again a jolt went through the highboat. “The docking maneuver,” Goal breathed. “Cletus, we’re there.”

“How delightful,” he replied dryly. Yet his own heart was beating faster, too, even though it wasn’t due to hopeful expectation and more because of nervous fear Goal might find out the truth right now. The longer she remained unsuspecting the better. After all, he couldn’t let her lie around without her consciousness cartridge for more than two weeks. And deleting her memories over and over might be detrimental as well.

He watched her pace again and listened to the sounds of metal on metal as the highboat settled into its final position. At last the door opened and Argus came in with one of his men.

Back home on Elysium he had never seen one of the Organon soldiers which made it even more unsettling to be in a place that was swarming with them. The soldier was wearing a uniform reinforced by metal plates similar to the one Argus had, but without a cape and with dark grey gloves instead of Argus’ wine red ones. But what made Cletus feel uneasy the most was that he wasn’t able to see the man’s eyes. Argus’ tinted visor allowed him to see enough of his face to guess his expressions. But the common soldier’s visor was blackened over the eyes although he suspected the man could look through it just fine the other way. Only a narrow strip of the visor was transparent from the outside and showed the long, straight bridge of a nose which only told him the helmet’s wearer was no machine but human in the widest sense of the word.

While Cletus was still staring at the two of them Goal put down her foot and folded her arms. “At last! I have to say I’m not used to being treated this way, bailiff. And then you also make me wait for so long.”

Argus watched her silently for a moment, but Cletus wasn’t sure if his gaze was amused or cold. “You are welcome to file an official complaint once we’re back, Miss Goal.”

She wouldn’t really do that so her father didn’t learn she had gone adventure hunting against his will. At least that was what Cletus hoped.

“However that may be,” he put in. “Since we managed to land on the planet in one piece we maybe should…”

“That’s why I’m here,” Argus interrupted him and ignored Cletus’ angered face. “We’re now in Porta Fisco. So, if you could maybe bestir yourselves, we could get off the highboat and into our cruiser in time to keep to the schedule.”

That made almost all of Goal’s anger dissipate. “Does that mean we’ll get to see the city? Yes?”

Argus looked from one of them to the other. “Well, as we leave the highboat, we’ll shortly go outside on the Upper Ascension Station before reaching the cruiser’s hangar.”

Cletus felt cold sweat pour down his back. Was it possible to see traces of the Deponians from there? He wished he had talked about it with Argus but now that Goal was present he no longer could do that. “Outside?” he repeated. “Isn’t that very dangerous? Because of the toxic atmosphere and… and radiation… and so on?”

Argus stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

Cletus swallowed his annoyance and tried again: “I mean, you surely have some protection available for the terrible dangers awaiting on Deponia.”

The bailiff narrowed his eyes, but at last he gave Cletus the answer he had wanted. “We’ll find a helmet or two. With an air filter. And of course protective gear.” He cleared his throat, but the crackle of his electronically distorted voice reminded Cletus of derisive laughter. “It’ll surely fit you well, Inspector. So you are a bit safer from the terrible dangers.”

Goal wasn’t exactly happy about having to wait even longer when Argus and the soldier left again. But at least now she wasn’t as angry as before but instead very excited and impatient. Cletus thought it absurd to look forward to getting to see trash but he let it pass without comment.

Luckily, this time it didn’t take as long until someone showed up again. Argus himself wasn’t among them but three soldiers with Organon gear stood in front of their door. Cletus couldn’t say if the one, who had accompanied the bailiff before, was one of them, but they had been instructed sufficiently and he didn’t have to explain what they needed again.

One of the Organons helped Cletus put on the uniform, the other two took care of Goal. He would have been able to do this without help, though. The helmet fit perfectly and even though he had to take off his white vinyl suit first because his collar wouldn’t fit under the armored uniform he would have preferred being spared the Organon’s reaction. He may have been unable to see the man’s grin, but he was sure it was there.

He had been right about his assumption that the helmet’s part that looked black from the outside was transparent from the inside. Nevertheless, the Organon emphasized he wasn’t to dial into their radio network, but as the activation switch for that need to be pressed with his tongue Cletus could very well forgo that. The gear may have been breathtakingly clean for Deponian standards and the helmet’s inside smelled of disinfectant but the mere thought of someone else’s saliva sticking to the switch made him pull a face.

Goal had more problems putting on the uniform. She may not have a collar the size of his and a more slender frame, so she could keep her suit under the uniform but she was also quite a bit taller than Cletus and the Organon soldiers. The helmet didn’t fit nearly as well either and she insisted on sticking with her own pants and boots. The Organons on the other hand insisted in wrapping all exposed parts in fabric until Goal could hardly move anymore. Cletus was amazed she stayed so calm through it all especially since the two idiots started giggling whenever they repeated that this was necessary for their safety. But by now Goal was probably ready to get through anything as long as she could finally go see the planet.

And then they were done at last. Accompanied by their little escort they took an elevator to the highboat’s airlocks. Then the heavy security doors opened and they were standing on a platform high on the Upper Ascension Station.

In front of them lay Porta Fisco. Cletus was impressed despite himself. The city was bigger than Elysium, that much was clear. Like a forest of columns skyscrapers reached high even though none of them came close to the Ascension Station. Some had collapsed or consisted of nothing but a steel frame but even that made the sight no less impressive. Once this city had housed the seat of the Council of Elders and many considered it Deponia’s capital.

The sky looked far bluer than he had expected even though the horizon between the houses shimmered in an unhealthy greenish tone. He couldn’t see the ocean beyond the city but the wind carried strange smells of decay and wet moldiness to them that the air filters were of little use against.

Next to him Goal was lost in the moment and dreamily took in the sight. But suddenly he noticed Argus stomp towards them. The bailiff got right in their faces and pointed in the direction he came from. “If you are finally finished admiring the architecture we could be on our way at last. The cruiser will leave in four minutes whether you’re aboard or not.”

Cletus reached for Goal’s arm and was relieved when she didn’t resist and went right along.

They rode another elevator downwards within the Station until they reached the level of the monorail. Argus got more impatient with every passing minute and wouldn’t let them take a closer look at the cruiser’s outside before ushering them inside. All Cletus had time to notice was that this monstrosity was made of metal and wasn’t much wider than the rail. That didn’t mean it was all that small considering the monorail itself was several meters wide, too. But more than width the impressive space the cruiser occupied was due to its height. It reached high into the sky and widened a bit up there. It sure didn’t look aerodynamic. Instead it looked terribly ugly.

Oh well, when he was inside, he no longer had to look at it.

 

***

 

Cletus dropped down on their bed and sighed contently. He hardly dared believe it but he had really made it through the day.

They had returned the protective gear so it could be “cleaned and disinfected”. Cletus approved of that but also saw it as a welcome excuse to restrict their movement. This was absolutely necessary when it came to Goal and concerning himself… Well, his curiosity was very limited anyway.

The cabin they had been assigned was even smaller than the one on the highboat but it had everything they needed to survive a few weeks: a double bed hidden in one wall that could be folded out, a wardrobe and a big drawer, as well as a small desk and chair behind a partition wall. A couch and a big dining room table would have been nice additions but at least he’d never again think of his apartment as small. And when he’d move into a bigger one once he would have finished this mission… Cletus grinned complacently.

Goal sat down next to him on the bed and watched him with a grin that was just as wide as his own. “We’re really here,” she whispered.

He folded his arms behind his head and glanced at her. “Yes, right in the trash. Congratulations!”

She laughed and lay down beside him. “Right in an adventure,” she corrected him. Cletus only snorted.

They lay side by side for a while in silence, then Goal started playing with a strand of his hair. “Thank you for taking me along.”

He didn’t look at her but neither did he push her hand away. “It’s not like you left me any other choice.”

She chuckled, leaned over and kissed him. “But if you took Mrs. Kinkel with you, you wouldn’t have as much fun tonight.”

Now he returned her gaze. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her so happy. So full of energy and anticipation. He put a hand on her cheek and answered with a kiss of his own, stronger and more urgent, as he rolled on top of her.

And while they celebrated their engagement closely intertwined the thought came to him that it’d be such a shame if she found out about him and he had to delete the memories of this evening.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I included most of the in-game dialogue from Doomsday for the first scenes. I hope it isn't too jarring right next to my usual writing. Any feedback is very welcome!


	14. Chapter 13

„What do you mean: I can’t come along?” Goal stared at the Organon soldier and looked so bewildered Cletus held his breath in anticipation of the tantrum to come.

“I already told you,” the Organon replied in his crackling, metallic voice. “The helmet that was meant for you was damaged and for your own safety the bailiff decided you can’t you use it today. We’ll find a replacement tomorrow or the day after.”

Goal’s jaw dropped. “You wrack that helmet and that’s why I can’t come?” Cletus was beginning to worry she might throw a punch.

“I’m sure this was just an accident,” he hurried to put in, although he was far from sure that was the case. The Organon didn’t look worried at all; instead, he seemed almost gleeful.

Goal glared at him, but to Cletus’ surprise, she left it at that. With a growl, she turned her back on him and disappeared behind the small partition wall in their cabin. Maybe she was getting more sensible. After all, they had been traveling for four days and whenever she had gotten through the procedure of putting on her safety gear which was just as ill-fitting for Goal as it was on the first day, she had been rewarded with nothing but the sight of a grey, rocky shore, patches of dirty snow and the dark sea.

Personally, he wouldn’t have minded if it were his helmet that wasn’t functional, but he doubted that Argus would be happy with him giving his helmet to Goal.

Sighing, he sent the Organon to wait outside and changed. He’d have plenty of time to deal with Goal and her rotten mood later on, once she had time to calm down.

A short while later he stepped out onto the corridor and followed the soldier to the cruiser’s bridge. Bored, he looked around for Argus and moved closer to the large windows. Something was different, but… He swallowed.

Out there was a city. Well, it wasn’t as big as Porta Fisco by any means and it didn’t have that air of a formerly elegant metropolis. But after seeing so much of barren rocks, empty grasslands and dreary coasts those massive steel buildings were rather impressive, too. Especially the outer wall that surrounded the city like a ring didn’t seem to be made of stone but of steel and rose over 100 meters high. He couldn’t tell how wide it was from here but it looked incredibly solid to him.

What made this place rather different from Porta Fisco, too, was how much closer he was now to the town center. And how impossible that made missing that this place was inhabited. Among the shapes moving out there more than half weren’t wearing the grey-green uniforms of the Organon but more or less elegant coats to protect against the cold. Some were apparently busy with transporting goods but in most cases, he couldn’t quite see what they were doing.

Cletus pulled off his helmet and took a deep breath. No wonder Goal had to take a break today.

“Welcome to Morasq, Inspector.”

“Bailiff,” Cletus replied with a curt nod, then he went back to staring out the window.

Argus joined him at the window and glanced at him. “If you had taken the time to prepare for our route as I told you, you wouldn’t be nearly this surprised.”

“I did read about it,” Cletus retorted not quite truthfully. “I simply didn’t expect to see the city in this state. There’s hardly any trash on the streets and the houses don’t look all that wretched either. Instead, there’s even electric lighting and it’s both functional _and_ has the necessary energy source.”

The bailiff folded his arms and looked quite pleased with himself “Of course it is. All of Pollutia is firmly under our control and Morasq enjoys the Organon’s special protection. Trade, infrastructure and energy – no decision is made without the Organon’s approval.”

Cletus returned his glance and snorted. “The place has grown dear to you, I see.”

“It’s necessary,” Argus replied coldly. “The power plants of Haccinobyl provide not only Pollutia with electricity; they’re our main source of energy on this planet.”

“Haccinobyl? You were able to put the power plants back in operation? As far as I heard those were contaminated by radiation during the great disaster years before Elysium’s launch.”

Argus laughed. “Yes, that made things a bit more complicated. Gathering volunteers to rebuild everything took a while… and those who are operating the facilities now never last all that long.”

Cletus raised an eyebrow. “Volunteers?”

“My men round them up in the villages. Not in Morasq itself of course. That could cause a bit too much unrest among the civilians. But I fear we may run out of able-bodied adults in a while. But as long as you do your job, Inspector, we only have to make do for a few more weeks.”

In spite of himself, Cletus felt a shudder run down his spine. Argus didn’t miss his reaction either. “What is it, Inspector? Did you just discover you have a conscience?”

Cletus shook his head. “Nonsense! I merely have a distaste for the pitiful state of affairs on this sorry excuse for a planet.”

Argus regarded him carefully. “Maybe it will cause you to stop treating this like a personal, little holiday trip. Just thinking about the way you frolic around with your fiancée… It’s pathetic.” He snorted. “And your fitness leaves even more to be desired than I first thought.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What are you talking about?”

The bailiff chuckled softly. “So you didn’t notice the surveillance camera in your quarters?”

Cletus paled even more than usual. “You…” He gasped. “How dare you?! You despicable, voyeuristic bastard!” He clenched his fists and wanted to lunge at Argus but the latter merely stepped aside and raised a hand causing several of his men to brandish their guns and come closer. Cletus froze and dropped his fists to his sides again.

“But my dear Inspector. You shouldn’t forget the position you’re in. You need me. And I need you. As long as you keep the seriousness of this mission in mind and deal with your fiancée in a more… appropriate way, our joint venture can still be quite a success.”

Cletus was breathing heavily. Part of him was burning with anger. How could Argus spy on them in their most intimate moments and then talk so derisively of him?! Not that he felt ashamed for the way his body looked, but he preferred being able to decide who he showed it to. On the other hand, he knew Argus was right. They needed each other. For now.

Finally, he nodded.

 

***

 

“Cletus, what’s wrong? Since you came back yesterday you hardly talk anymore and always keep your distance. Would you finally tell me what happened? Please?”

Cletus suppressed a sigh. Why did Goal have to discover her softer side just when he decided he had to stay away from her? He had spent the previous evening contemplating if and how he should tell her about what Argus had told him about the surveillance cameras, but in the end he had stayed silenced and feigned being terribly tired.

When he didn’t reply she put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Cletus pressed his lips together. “Goal, please. Not now!”

“Was there something special you saw?”

“No, just stones, the sea, and dirt. As always.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Strange. By now we should be in the general area of Morasq.”

“Yes, maybe,” he grumbled. “There may have been some ruins, too.”

She let go of him and folded her arms. “Cletus, you’re going to tell me what’s wrong right now!”

He evaded her eyes. “You won’t like it.”

“Not talking about it won’t make it any better.”

Cletus sighed, then he gestured vaguely towards the ceiling. “They have surveillance cameras in all cabins.”

Goal stared at him. Then to the ceiling, then back at him. She took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. “I see,” she said in an almost casual tone. “Of course.”

Cletus blinked. “You’re taking this better than I expected.”

“I should have expected something like that. After all, the head of the Organon loves controlling everything. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to kill Argus once we’re back home.”

He was anything but sure she was joking. “Goal, maybe we should postpone talking about such matters.” He leaned over to her and whispered. “When we are no longer spied on.”

She thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Oh, Cletus, at least I can rely on you.”

He forced a smile and evade her gaze again. If only this cursed journey was over already!

They spent their time in silence until finally several Organons showed up with their protective gear. This time they had equipment for both of them and Goal was almost eerily polite when she thanked the soldiers and let them help her into her uncomfortable outfit. It scared Cletus more than seeing her show her anger openly.

They were all a lot more practiced in putting on the armor and helmets but the Organons still found ways to draw out the procedure every single time.

Finally, they arrived on the bridge and Cletus immediately glanced at the windows nervously. But they had left Morasq far behind by now.

Their route still hugged the coast; at times the supporting pillars of the cruiser’s monorail were standing on land, but sometimes they were set right into the sea and allowed no more than the view of the rocky shore. Still, gradually the landscape was beginning to change. After all the grey he had seen in Pollutia Cletus could hardly believe his eyes but apparently, there was some kind of vegetation even down here on Deponia.

“Is that a forest?” asked Goal whose voice sounded strangely muffled from underneath the helmet.

Argus stepped towards them and if he was incensed about the lack of greeting he didn’t show it. “You could call it some sort of forest. This region has the idyllic name “Parks”, but this green monstrosity out there is called – or rather _was_ called – ‘the compost’ by the locals.”

“Compost?” Cletus repeated and made a face. “Is that the reason for this terrible stench?”

“Yes,” Argus replied and sounded a bit too amused for Cletus’ taste. “This is the place where the Deponians used to dump all kinds of biological waste. And from this mixture of banana peels, rancid cheese, and used tea bags grew something, sprawled more and more until it became this thing. Maybe a few mutated seeds ended up in there and the forest probably swallowed a few curious botanists back when there were people here. But if you’re looking for a place with beaches and scenic foliage on Deponia, you found it right here.”

“It… it smells real… awful,” Goal said and sounded as if she was trying not to gag. “I thought we had to wear these helmets because they had air filters.”

“They do. Believe me: your delicate upper-class noses would probably just implode if it wasn’t for these filters.”

The cruiser closed in on the coast and thus the “compost” and Cletus felt his stomach lurch. “How… big is this thing?” he asked haltingly.

Argus chuckled. “It covers the whole northwest area of this continent. But don’t worry, Inspector, you’ll get the chance to see it up close. The compost may be nigh impenetrable but in about four days we’ll reach a spot where we managed to build the rails over the forest. Then you can truly admire this miracle of nature.”

Cletus clenched his teeth and kept swallowing bile. “How fascinating,” he managed. “I’ll write a detailed report. In my cabin.”

“Of course. I expected no less from a man with your work ethos.”

Cletus reached for Goal’s arm and to his relief, she immediately followed him. She didn’t say a word but he could feel how tense she was. Just as the door to the bridge slid shut behind them, they could hear the Organons start laughing, but he didn’t even care.

He couldn’t remember ever feeling this disgusted about something as he felt about this planet and he could understand Ulysses’ zealous urge to leave this dirt behind better than ever. He only hoped Goal would come to see this, too.

 

***

 

He was so sick of it all. Literally. Since they were in Parks Cletus could hardly keep down his food. The stench had slowly permeated all of the cruiser and he wondered if they’d ever get rid of it again.

What made things worse was that this jungle emitted chemicals that apparently affected the consciousness. He had never had such dreams as he was having them now while he was awake. If only it were pleasant dreams…

Goal was taking it the easy way. She spent most of her time in bed and had forgone coming along to the bridge again. That meant he could talk to Argus openly but he wasn’t sure whether to think of that as an advantage. Most of the things the bailiff told him about this region made his skin crawl.

He didn’t want to know that the hippies, who roved about the edges of the compost and sometimes even ventured in, occasionally attacked small Organon patrols and left no survivors. Or that there was a cloning facility further south that used mainly captive hippies as resources.

He hadn’t expected this inspection to be a walk in the park, but he had assumed that due to being in contact with Elysium the Organon would have picked up a bit on how to behave in a civilized manner. But he might as well have hoped to have a personal chef and lounge bar in his quarters.

They traveled south for several days and Cletus began to fear they were heading for the cloning facility Argus spoke of. But then they came across an intersecting cruiser route that went both east and west. To his relief, they started going east and within a day’s travel the jungle receded and they reached a mountain range he had already seen from afar.

The Spiky Mountains were famous for their erratic magnetic fields but the Organon had channeled their way with brute force and several plasma pulse cannons, so their cruisers were able to pass through. Finally, they had left Parks behind.

Unfortunately, that meant they had only half of their journey or maybe a bit more behind them. In front of them lay Miserior, a country that could be characterized by its lack of anything. Alright, there were insects. And trash. And stones. And lots of boredom.

By now Cletus deeply regretted not taking a bunch of books along as Mrs. Kinkel had planned to do. Lacking anything better to do he spent his time polishing his report for the Council of Elders while Goal looked over his shoulder and counted down the days until they could return home.

At least this experience had healed her longing for adventure; Cletus was pretty sure of that. If only she didn’t react so tired whenever he tried to plan their wedding.

“In any case, we should serve iced caviar during the dinner.” He tried breaching the subject again. “And then we should…”

“You don’t even like caviar,” Goal, who had been lying on the bed in silence and staring into empty space, murmured.

“So? That’s not the point. It’s a matter of what is befitting for our status.”

“Why? Just because it’s expensive?”

Sometimes Goal herself seemed to forget she was a lady. Cletus rolled his eyes. “We won’t have to worry about the cost when we’ll come back home. Don’t forget I got a promotion.” He grinned smugly. “Besides, as far as I know, it’s custom for the father of the bride to pay for the wedding.”

Goal made an annoyed sound. “Ah, so that’s what this is all about. You found a way to show off using someone else’s money.”

“Goal…”

“That reminds me,” she continued without missing a beat. “How did you manage to persuade my father? Just a few days before you proposed to me he didn’t even want to talk about you. And then he changes his mind by 180 degrees. It makes me wonder why?”

Cletus swallowed. This conversation was moving in a terrible direction. “Well, ahem, he, uh, must have reconsidered what he thought of me. Because… because I was named ambassador. Yes. That’s it. I’m an ambassador of Elysium now and that must have strengthened his faith in me being able to provide well for you.”

“Hmm, that may be. Still, I can’t shake the feeling something is fishy about all this. That he is planning something and Argus knows about it, too. That’s why he’s acting so strangely.”

This wasn’t good at all. “Goal, please. The bailiff isn’t acting strangely at all.” He leaned over to her and hissed between clenched teeth. “Not now, Goal. Remember! The cameras!”

She gave him a weird look and nodded but it didn’t dispel the bad feeling in Cletus’ stomach. What a relief that they had almost made it through Miseria. Tomorrow they’d reach the Shrapnel Coast and after three more days they’d be back in the Three Quarters and thus close to the East Coast and Porta Fisco. With a bit of luck, he’d be back in the high boat and on his way home to Elysium in six or seven days. Back to the better life he deserved.

 

***

 

The Shrapnel Coast had almost driven him mad. The country was full to the brim with military equipment, both that which was ready for the scrap heap and that which was still somewhat functional. Besides, the people living here were – according to Argus – a bunch of “total morons”.

The Organon had given up trying to bring order to this lot. The inhabitants of the Shrapnel Coast were constantly on their toes because other countries might start a war with them. Until they did, they spent their time warring among each other.

When he heard the first explosions Cletus had flinched quite badly but he’d grown used to the sound. He had managed to sell the noise as self-combustion of the tons of gunpowder and explosives lying around in the countryside to Goal. After all, the sun was beating down terribly and the climate was dry. That much Goal could see for herself on the single day Argus let her come to the bridge.

By now the bailiff didn’t even bother to come up with an excuse when he wouldn’t let Goal leave their cabin. Cletus waited for the moment she’d go ballistic at him and hoped dearly she’d wait until they were back home.

Time and time again he pulled out the backup of Goal’s memory cartridge from his travel bag just to make sure it was still there. Finally, he no longer put it back but left it in the pocket of his pants to have it nearby in an emergency.

When they finally reached the frontier and he heard one last explosion rumble behind them as if to say goodbye, he was sure they’d made it through the worst of it.

The Three Quarters got their name from the Organon splitting the country up in the North Quadrant, the South Quadrant and the South West Quadrant. Cletus wondered whether the Organon knew what “quadrant” even meant but he was in no mood to discuss this with Argus. The main thing was that he’d be gone soon.

One and a half days later Cletus was watching the scenery going by from his vantage point on the cruiser’s bridge. The countryside was as dry and barren as that on the Shrapnel Coast, with cacti as pretty much the only vegetation. Only the junk lying around everywhere was of a far less martial nature.

From time to time he could spot villages, some in the distance but some close enough to see them in detail. And close enough to see the people living here. No wonder Argus didn’t bother providing Goal with a protective suit today.

Goal’s absence also meant Cletus didn’t have to wear a helmet either to keep up the appearance of a poisonous atmosphere. He saw that as a plus at least. He was terribly sick of pretending.

“Your companion grows more and more indignant,” Argus growled next to him.

Cletus glanced at him, but the bailiff’s eyes behind the toned visor didn’t give much away. He snorted. “That’s not much of a miracle, given how little effort you made not to give our secret away. You hardly let her leave the cabin. It’s no surprise she’s become suspicious of you.”

“If you weren’t such a wimp who just has to take along his fiancée I wouldn’t even have to deal with that. We agreed that your assistant would stay in the cabin without causing any trouble. But no, you had to take someone else!”

“Taking Goal along wasn’t my idea!” Cletus retorted. “I merely chose the best option in a terrible situation while you were busy sabotaging me!”

“All I see is how you waste your limited capabilities to play the fool for a spoiled, little princess. Occasionally, you’re quite clever, Cletus, but when it comes to this woman you act as if your too tight pants were throttling your mind!”

Cletus opened his mouth and closed it again. How impertinent to insinuate he couldn’t handle Goal! As if someone like him would let anyone walk over him!

He whirled about and marched back to their cabin. Let this stupid twit think whatever he wanted. He was probably only jealous because no woman had ever paid attention to him.

In the nick of time he remembered to put on his helmet, so he could enter their cabin and pull it off dramatically once he was inside. Goal was sitting on the bed and looked up in surprise as he came in. “I didn’t expect you back so soon, Cletus. Did something happen?”

He snorted and dropped the helmet on the bed. At that moment a lizard the size of a cat bolted out of its nest in the blankets and disappeared around a corner, hissing all the way.

“Poisy!” Cletus cried in alarm.

Goal had jumped to her feet as well. “I’m sorry, Cletus. I took him out of his cage to play a bit.”

And now this! He sank to his knees and tried to spot the plague-spit monitor. The critter was racing up and down in their cabin. He seemed to try to find a suitable hiding place, but when Cletus managed to corner him the monitor flitted between his legs towards the door. That wouldn’t have been much of a problem if the door hadn’t swished open in that very moment.

An Organon poked his head through. “The bailiff sends me. I’m here to collect your protective…”

He didn’t get to say more because at that moment Poisonous discovered the possibility of escape and scuttled out into the corridor. Cletus cursed and took on the pursuit.

In the corridor he looked around frantically, then he noticed a yellowish, scaly tail disappear behind one of the columns set into the railings at regular intervals. He rushed toward the railings and peered down. Poisonous had used the stairwell’s openness to jump down to a lower level.

Cletus spotted an elevator nearby and hammered impatiently on the button next to the door. That was when the Organon soldier caught up to him. “You can’t let your pet run free like that!”

“He only escaped because of you!” Cletus yelled back. “If you hadn’t just stood there like an idiot I’d already caught him. Go on and help me get him!”

The Organon stared at him for a moment, then he drew his hand blaster and looked around. “Alright. Where is your animal?”

Cletus reached for the blaster in annoyance. “You aren’t going to shoot at him, are you? He’s my pet!”

“I don’t care. I have to maintain order!”

Okay, that approach didn’t do any good. “Listen: It would be madness shooting at anything in here. Just think of the equipment you might hit and damage.”

“Oh. Right. That’s what the bailiff always says, too.” The Organon relented and let go of the blaster. Cletus didn’t take any chances and pocketed the thing to keep it safe. As he was still wearing the uniform he borrowed, albeit without the helmet, he even had an empty holster for it.

Then the elevator opened and the two of them tumbled inside.

“Darn it!” Cletus cried. “Now I missed which direction Poisonous took.”

He pressed a button to make the elevator move downwards and pressed his face against a small window in the elevator’s door. Finally, he spotted a movement far down where he assumed the engine room and the cruiser’s driving wheels to be.

The Organon next to him folded his arms. “Why do you even want that creature back? It seems to be able to find the exit on its own and you can finally be rid of it.”

Cletus glared at him. “He belongs to me! You may not get that, but… but it’s none of your business anyway!”

Thinking about maybe losing Poisonous made him feel strangely empty. He’d been with him for so long. From the moment Cletus had decided to keep him instead of letting him be smashed to bits the monitor had been his companion. And now… He swallowed.

At last, they arrived at the lowest floor. Cletus ignored the Organon and looked around. “Poisy? Where are you? Come here! Daddy’s waiting!”

He hurried through the corridor past two more surprised looking Organons, calling for Poisonous all the time. Then he reached a platform behind a passage that offered a direct view of the monorail. Two enormous wheels connected by an axis were propelling the cruiser and held it on track. Beyond the rail, he could see open sky and several meters below there was the ground that rushed by. Deponian ground. Dust, dirt, and trash.

But there, between a tire and a broken fridge, he spotted a pale yellow animal. Then the cruiser swooshed on and he could no longer see it. “Poisy!”

Cletus grabbed the safety railings. This couldn’t be true! It mustn’t be! Maybe he had imagined things.

But if he was honest to himself, he knew he wouldn’t see Poisonous again. He remained standing there for a while staring out into the Deponian wastelands then he slowly went back, hanging his head. He ignored the Organons who talked to him. All he could think about was how he was to explain what happened to Goal and what he was to do if she demanded they go back and search for the monitor,

Hi sighed. That would be absurd, of course. But Goal was much more emotional than him and would surely take the loss very hard. He felt a lump in his throat and coughed. Good thing he wasn’t so soft.

The elevator ride back up seemed to be much faster than down and he still had no good explanation ready. Oh, well. He’d have to improvise.

The cabin door slid open and but just as he opened his mouth to tell Goal he stopped short. He walked around the partition wall and checked there but it made no difference.

Goal was gone.


End file.
